Summer Travelers Look to Gas Prices, Air Fares
May 11, 2007. Families who haven't already made summer vacation plans are no doubt doing so now. But how much will it cost this year to travel to the luxury vacation rental? That depends on whether they drive or fly. According to a preview of this year's National Travel Monitor, 78 percent of respondents in a survey said they use a car for at least one trip while 48 percent will fly at least once.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects summer gas prices to hover around $3 per gallon this summer, the Associated Press reported . The average price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline may fall to $2.90, but not much lower, the EIA said. Fortunately, the EIA said it did not think gasoline would approach $4 per gallon, as reported in some stories.
Summer airfares have risen up and down in the course of the past two weeks, as some airlines first chose to hike prices, but then slashed them back again, according to another article. The increase started with United airlines, which bumped prices up to $100 per round trip in some cases and up to $20 per round trip elsewhere. Fortunately for consumers, "Other airlines were mostly declining to match the increases, putting pressure on United to retreat." Some other airlines announced $10 per round trip increases, but quickly scrapped those increases when United backed down.
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