Airfare from Europe to the United States drops to 2019 levels

Airfare from Europe to the United States has dropped to 2019 levels. This is due to a decline in the number of travelers from Western Europe heading to the U.S., a trend expected to continue at least through July.

According to preliminary data from the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) under the Department of Commerce, the number of international tourists arriving in the United States in May decreased by 2.8% compared to last year.

Travel from Western Europe fell by 4.4% in May, while travel from Eastern Europe rose by 4.6% during the same period. The number of advance bookings indicates a steady decline: according to analytics company OAG Aviation, total inbound bookings to the U.S. in July are down 13% year-over-year.

Transatlantic airfare has been falling since the first quarter, as Europeans began to reconsider their travel plans to the U.S. following actions by Donald Trump.

The strengthening of the dollar has also deterred some travel. According to NTTO, travel from Western Europe in March dropped by 17% year-over-year.

According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, average round-trip economy fares on more than 50 U.S.–Europe routes in the first quarter dropped an average of 7% year-over-year, and fares between Atlanta, Georgia, and London fell by 55%.

According to the travel booking app Hopper, this summer round-trip tickets from the U.S. to Europe dropped by 10% compared to last year. The average fare of $817 per ticket matches summer 2019 levels, before the pandemic.