Why are flights to Europe the cheapest in years?

Flights between the U.S. and Europe weren't this cheap three years ago, when many countries were just lifting COVID-19-era rules.

Prices are low even for the traditionally slow late fall and winter months outside of major holidays.

“It's brutal to fill seats during these times of year,” said Brett Snyder, who writes for the travel industry website Cranky Flier.

According to flight tracking company Hopper, “good deals” prices across the Atlantic to Europe averaged $578 in November, down from $619 a year earlier.

This is the lowest deal price for the month since 2021, when they were going for $479 and much international travel was in the doldrums due to the pandemic, Hopper's data shows.

In January, after the year-end holidays, 2025 prices are lower: $558 compared to $578 for the same month in 2024, although they are higher than the $488 in January 2022, according to Hopper.

On the other hand, domestic airfares in the United States are more expensive compared to last year every month from November through March.

Many airlines are financially troubled Spirit Airlines To profitable Southwest Airlines It has reduced flights or scaled back growth plans next year, which has helped keep prices steady in the United States. The scarcity of aircraft also prevents airlines from adding many flights.

There are also some periods of weak demand overall, executives at the largest U.S. airlines say, Delta Airlines, United Airlines and American Airlines That's what he said, calling out the week before and after the US presidential election on Tuesday.

Airlines have raced to add seats between the United States and Europe to meet the demand for travel after the pandemic.

This accumulation was not only during the peak months. Executives noted that they are seeing more demand for Europe in the shoulder season as travelers look to escape summer's scorching temperatures and crowds. As a result, they have also added off-peak flights.

U.S.-European airline capacity in the fourth quarter is marginally lower than last year, but higher than in 2019 and about double the amount in the same period in 2021, according to Cirium.

“I expect airfares (to Europe) to be lower next year,” said Hayley Berg, chief economist at Hopper.

Now, on the heels of a big two years for European travel, many customers are newly embarking on big trips to popular destinations like Spain and Italy, which means fewer people to fill seats in the off-season.

“It's not like there's a lot of low-hanging fruit and where airlines can manually print money like last year,” said Scott Keyes, founder of the travel app Going, formerly known as Scott's Cheap Flights.

Airlines traditionally discount flights in the off-season, but they are cheaper this year.

“Here's the information,” Keyes said. “When they have to go out and reduce, they have to put pressure on demand.”

So that travelers don't get bored of European vacation mainstays when the warm-weather travel season rolls around next year, airlines are trying new things. United Airlines It noted that many customers have already taken flights to major European cities and the airline plans to expand its flight schedule next year to more off-the-beaten-path destinations such as Greenland and Mongolia.

“We are also able to do well financially outside of our partner centers,” Andrew Nocella, United's chief commercial officer, said on an earnings call last month. “So we look around the world, we look for new destinations, we look for hot destinations and destinations that, most importantly, we can make money in.”