Airfares are set to go even higher in 2023

Travellers can expect to pay more to travel to Asian destinations from both Europe and North America, with airfares in economy expected to rise by 12% and 9.8% respectively.

Business fares from Europe meanwhile are set to rise by 7.6%, while Asia-North America flights will climb by 5.6%. Those taking Australian domestic flights can expect to pay 19.4% in the business cabin. Flights from Asia in business class to Australia, Europe and North America are expected to rise by 6.2%, 7.3% and 4.6% respectively.

This is according to Air Monitor 2023, published by American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT), an annual forecast of airfare movements on key business travel routes. The 2023 report forecasts widespread air fare price rises around the world, due to a range of factors including inflation, rising fuel costs and capacity issues.

In the Asia-Pacific region, prices are expected to rise as some countries have been slower to reopen than other post-Covid, while an increase in demand combined with relatively strong economic prospects could put upwards pressure on prices.

The report says that business price fares to Singapore will increase by 8.6% in 2023 across air flows to and from the destination, while fares to Japan will increase by 3.5% in the business class cabin across air flows to and from Japan.

Europe-North America routes are expected to see modest rises of 3.7%, while intra-European flights could see stronger price rises (6% in the business cabin, 5.5% in economy) as airline capacity recovery lags behind the resurgence of demand. North American domestic fares are expected to see moderate rises (3.4% business, 2.9% economy) as more capacity comes online in 2023.

Julie Avenel, vice president, global business consulting at Amex GBT, said: “The volatile economic environment makes it challenging for travel teams to plan ahead. We want to equip our clients with the insights they need to build strong travel programmes.”