Are Flights More Expensive in 2026? (Yes, and Here’s Why)

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Flights are more expensive in 2026 because of one big shift: fuel costs spiked after the 2026 Iran war, and airlines still don’t have enough planes to add cheap seats. US airfare climbed around 26% over the past year, one of the sharpest jumps in decades. Add in strong travel demand and fewer budget carriers, and you get the pricey fares you’re seeing on your screen.

I’ve spent the past year booking flights across the US, Europe, South America, and Asia, so I’ve felt this firsthand. The good news is that flying isn’t expensive everywhere or all the time, and there are still real deals if you know where to look. Below, I’ll break down exactly what’s driving prices up, and how I keep finding cheap flights anyway.

• Read next: My Guide to Finding Cheap Airline Tickets

My #1 tip to find cheap flights in 2026

Want alerts on cheap flights straight to your inbox? Sign up for Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights), a membership-based service that finds huge discounts, mistake fares, and points and miles deals. With fares up around 26% this year, they’re how I still catch roundtrips like New York to Lisbon for under $450, well below the going rate. All you have to do is enter your home airport and where you want to go.

There’s a free and a premium version and the free one has pretty much everything you’ll need. Though if you’re like me and travel a lot, it’s worth upgrading to the paid version for $49 per year. I recommend signing up for the free trial to try it for yourself. And if you like it, use my code JON25 for 25% off your membership!

Flight Prices in 2026 at a Glance

Are flights more expensive in 2026? Yes. US airfare is up roughly 26% over the past year, one of the steepest jumps in decades, and both United and Delta have said prices aren’t coming back down. I’ve booked flights across four continents this year, and I’ve felt every bit of that increase. Here’s what’s driving it:

• Fuel is the big one. After the 2026 Iran war shook energy markets, jet fuel is set to average around $152 a barrel this year, up nearly 69% from 2025. Airlines are passing that straight to your ticket.
• There aren’t enough planes. Boeing and Airbus delivery delays mean US airlines added almost no new seats this year. They can charge more for the ones they have.
• Premium cabins hurt most. Business class fares rose about 18% in 2025 and never eased, so upgrades sting more than ever.
• But zoom out and it’s calmer. Airfare is up only about 4.5% over ten years, while everything else rose more than 38%. Flying still hasn’t outpaced inflation.
• Deals haven’t vanished. I’m still catching sub-$450 roundtrips to Europe using Going (code JON25 saves 25%), especially off-season and midweek.

Flights got pricier in 2026, no question – but not everywhere and not all the time. Let’s get into the why.

Why fuel costs are making flights so expensive

Fuel is the single biggest reason flights got expensive in 2026. After the 2026 Iran war rattled global energy markets, jet fuel is projected to average around $152 a barrel this year, up nearly 69% from 2025. When fuel costs jump like that, airlines pass the bill straight to your ticket.

The numbers behind the scenes are staggering. United expects to pay about $6 billion more for fuel this year than it planned for, and American forecast a similar increase, each a jump of more than 50% over last year. Fuel now eats up close to a third of what airlines spend to operate, so even small price swings ripple through every fare.

Labor is the other rising cost. Pilots and crew won major pay raises after years of shortages, and those contracts are locked in for years. Add sustainable aviation fuel rules in Europe, which cost airlines more than regular jet fuel, and you have a set of expenses that keep base fares firm no matter how early you book.

Fewer planes and budget airlines mean fewer cheap seats

The other force pushing airfares up in 2026 is simple supply. Airlines don’t have enough planes, because Boeing and Airbus are both years behind on deliveries and older jets are retiring faster than new ones arrive. US airlines added almost no new domestic seats this year, so when demand climbs, they can’t just add flights, and prices stay firm.

The bigger blow was losing Spirit. After filing for bankruptcy twice, the ultra-low-cost carrier shut down completely on May 2, 2026, canceling every flight in the largest US airline liquidation in two decades. The timing was brutal, since Spirit had a deal to exit bankruptcy in February, but the Iran war sent fuel prices soaring days later and the rescue collapsed.

Spirit was never a joy to fly, but it forced the big airlines to keep fares low on the routes it served. With it gone, legacy carriers now charge two or three times what Spirit once did on some routes. When a budget airline disappears, everyone flying that route ends up paying more.

Why business and first class cost more than ever

Business and first class fares have reset to a permanently higher baseline, and 2026 hasn’t brought much relief. Fuel is the immediate reason, since premium cabins have flexible pricing and fatter margins, so when oil spiked after the Iran war, front-cabin fares moved first. A business class roundtrip to Europe that ran around $4,000 to $5,000 a few years ago now often starts closer to $7,000 or $8,000.

The demand side keeps prices firm too. Leisure travelers are treating themselves to lie-flat seats after years of putting trips off, and corporate flyers are back in force. Because each business seat takes up the floor space of three or four economy seats, airlines protect that inventory and charge close to whatever the market will bear.

There is a sliver of good news. The steep year-over-year jumps are finally leveling off, and some analysts see fall and winter 2026 as a softer window on routes like JFK to London or Boston to Paris. Unless you’ve banked miles or caught a rare mistake fare, though, the front cabin is still the toughest part of flying to afford right now.

When flights are cheapest (and most expensive) in 2026

The timing of your trip still swings the price more than almost anything else. Summer and the winter holidays are brutal, since demand peaks and airlines have no reason to discount seats they know will fill. Fly a week earlier or later, or swap a Friday departure for a Tuesday, and you can save hundreds on the exact same route.

Demand is the engine behind all of it. Travel appetite in 2026 hasn’t cooled, with families, remote workers, and international routes all rebounding at once, and airlines happily charge more when they know planes will sell out. January and February are the cheapest months to fly, once the holiday rush fades and demand drops off a cliff.

Where you go matters as much as when. While peak-season Europe drains your wallet, other regions stay cheap all year. Dollar Flight Club’s 2026 forecast found repeat fares under $200 to Central America, under $450 to Europe in the off-season, and sub-$100 domestic deals to places like Fort Lauderdale and Chicago. I’ve booked last-minute roundtrips to the Caribbean and Cancún for under $300, less than half what a domestic coast-to-coast ticket ran that same week.

• Read next: Is Dollar Flight Club Worth It in 2026? (My Full Review)

Are flights cheaper than a decade ago?

Yes, and flights are cheaper in 2026 than a decade ago – and this is the part the headlines skip. Even after the 2026 spike, US airfare is up only about 4.5% compared to ten years ago, while prices across everything else rose more than 38% in the same period. So while fares jumped sharply this year, flying still hasn’t outpaced general inflation the way groceries or rent have.

The disconnect comes down to how we remember prices. We feel the sting of this year’s fuel-driven increases and compare today’s fares to the pre-2020 era, when flash sales were everywhere and budget carriers like Spirit kept everyone honest. Set against a full decade, though, air travel remains one of the better-value things you can buy.

None of that makes a $900 summer fare feel good. But it’s worth keeping perspective when the “flights have never been more expensive” headlines hit. Zoom out far enough, and 2026 is still a relatively cheap time to fly, as long as you know where and when to look.

How I’m still finding cheap flights in 2026

Here’s the thing I keep reminding friends who swear off flying because of the prices: I’m still booking great deals almost every month. Just a few weeks ago I grabbed a roundtrip to Lisbon for under $450, and last month I helped my sister fly to Mexico City for barely more than a tank of gas. The fares are out there, they just move fast and you have to be ready.

My whole system comes down to one habit. I let Going do the watching for me! Instead of obsessively checking Google Flights, I get an email the moment a real deal drops from my home airport. When something good lands, I book within the hour, because the best fares in 2026 rarely last a day.

That’s honestly the only way I keep flying this much without going broke. If you take one thing from this whole guide, let it be this: the deals didn’t disappear, they just got harder to catch on your own. Set up the alerts, stay flexible, and you’ll still be booking trips while everyone else complains about the prices.