As peak travel season gets underway, American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) says economy and business-class passengers on the most in-demand corporate routes are seeing higher prices this year.
An analysis of tens of thousands of client transactions on flights to and from Canadian destinations reveals that a typical Toronto-to-Montreal flight in economy class cost 20% more this year as in 2019. An economy flight from Toronto to London, UK is a resounding 27% more expensive. However, there are domestic routes where airfares have actually dropped below pre-pandemic levels.
"We expect air fares to continue to rise this summer, however there are opportunities out there," says Jeremy Quek, principal global air practice line lead for Amex GBT.
"Half of the domestic routes in the top 10 most travelled are experiencing moderate fare decreases ranging from 14% for flights from Edmonton to Toronto to 2% for flights from Toronto to Winnipeg."
Other routes experiencing decreases are Calgary to Toronto (-10%), Toronto to Vancouver (-9%) and Edmonton to Vancouver (-11%). This is in stark contrast to international travel where all routes in the top 10 are trending higher, with the exception of Montreal to New York which experienced a price decrease of 4%.
"The fact that the cost of travel to Western Canada is showing moderate decreases can probably be attributed to changes in the airline competitive landscape," says Quek.
"With Westjet changing its business model post-COVID, scaling back operations in the Eastern part of Canada and re-focusing on the Western part where they are headquartered. This move has led to 35% fewer flights between Montreal and Toronto in 2023 compared to 2019 with prices in Coach rising 20% this year. On the other hand, there are 30% more flights between Calgary and Toronto. It's a similar picture in Vancouver where there are 25% more flights than in 2019."
Key routes between Canada and the U.S. have seen significant fare increases. Examples include: Chicago-Toronto, +21%; New York-Toronto, +9%; San Francisco-Toronto and Los Angeles-Toronto, +14%; and Dallas-Toronto, +10%.
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