Say goodbye to $ 30 airline tickets. The era of dirt cheap flights is coming to an end

Are you thinking about finally going on vacation? You are not alone.

Millions of Americans, many of whom have been incarcerated for a year, take to the roads and take to the skies as more people are vaccinated against Covid-19. President Joe Biden said last week that all American adults will be eligible for a vaccine in May.

As more people become confident that the threat from Covid-19 is diminishing, it becomes more difficult to find the lowest fares, some in the double digits, that airlines offered when they were more desperate to fill planes. The hotel rates are also ticking.

Travel search site Kayak, said the number of summer vacation searches has increased 27% every week since Biden’s announcement and airfares for the top 100 most searched destinations in the US have increased 7% month on month.

“Domestic airfares are on the rise. While discounts can still be found, they no longer fall into the lap of consumers,” said JP Morgan aviation analyst Jamie Baker. “Discounted rates increasingly require a yacht, and for many consumers who have been locked up for a year, they are probably not against the bother.”

The cheapest domestic vacation rates, including the promotional rates airlines send to your inbox, were $ 59.48 on March 15, still 26% lower than a comparable week in 2019, but more than 6% per week higher, according to Harrell Associates, a company that tracks airfares. Average leisure activity rates were nearly $ 187, up nearly 5% in a week and up nearly 9% from a comparable point in 2019.

The airline’s executives said Monday bookings were picking up in March and stretching into the summer. US carriers are on track to lose an average of $ 150 million a day this quarter, according to Airlines for America, but CEOs of United Airlines and Delta Air Lines said the rebound will finally burn their money this spring. JetBlue is recalling flight attendants from unpaid a month earlier due to higher-than-expected demand.

“As long as there is no setback, we are on the road to recovery and can put those days of talking about money burning, layoffs and things like that largely in the rearview mirror,” CEO Scott Kirby told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” on Tuesday.

US hotel occupancy averaged over 51% this month through March 13, the highest rate in more than a year, according to hotel data analytics company STR. In popular vacation spots like Miami, occupancy is nearly 70% with average rates of $ 228 per night, the highest since February 2020.

Jamila Ross, owner and founder of The Cooper Door B&B in Miami said she lowered her rates for January and February by more than 40% to $ 100 a night, but has since been able to increase them to $ 120.

Covid was particularly devastating to her hotel as it depended so much on the cruise industry for its proximity to the port.

She said the hotel is now about 70% full, compared to 40% last month, although she is holding back some inventory due to Covid.

“We want to be a responsible brand,” she said. “We can’t afford a single mistake.”

Maura Gannon, general manager of The Mermaid & the Alligator, a nine-room hotel in Key West, Florida, said, “As soon as people get the vaccines, phones will ring.”

She said some travelers are asking about bookings in May and June, traditionally part of the lower demand season.

Some travelers look for luxury accommodations that allow them to keep a physical distance from other guests.

“Villas go first year-round,” said Viktoria Riley, marketing director at the Ocean Club, a Four Seasons Resort in the Bahamas. Three-bedroom villas cost $ 16,500 per night in the low season that starts in mid-April and runs through the end of November.

Sure, rates and room rates have taken a deep dive into the pandemic, and deals are still going on, especially with business travelers who are still largely sidelined. Demand is nowhere near pre-pandemic levels.

In the third quarter of 2020, according to the most recent data, domestic flights in the US averaged $ 244.79 the lowest in more than 25 years, with no adjustment for inflation, according to the US Department of Transportation.

However, airlines have greatly reduced capacity to meet weak demand, which means fewer seats are available. They are expected to add more seats as the peak season approaches.

And since many international travel is still banned, the domestic leisure destinations have become the place to go.

For example, Delta Air Lines on Friday unveiled nine new destinations or increased service to outdoor destinations such as Glacier Park, Mont., And Jackson Hole, Wyo.

“American travelers are diverted in some way to the US and the handful of countries we are allowed to visit,” said Henry Harteveldt, founder of Atmosphere Research Group, a travel industry consultancy. “That shifts demand patterns and therefore also the pricing of airline tickets.”