Domestic flight bookings fell by 17% in April as air fares continued to rise

• US domestic flight bookings fell by 17% in April compared to March, according to Adobe.
• The drop in bookings comes as air fares continue to rise as a result of high fuel costs.

US domestic flight bookings fell in April from the previous month, after high fuel and other costs continued to push up air fares.

Bookings for domestic flights fell by 17% in April compared to March, according to data from software company, Adobe, published Thursday.

Overall, passengers in the US spent $7.8 billion on domestic flights bookings online in April, down from the $8.8 billion spent in March, Adobe said.

The fall in demand between March and April comes after continued rises in individual air fares as a result of the rising cost of jet fuel and growing demand for travel. Prices for air travel rose 18.6% in April, government data published Wednesday showed, the largest one-month jump since 1963.

Air fares and oil prices were already rising as post-lockdown recovery prompted demand for jet fuel, but have spiked further on concerns over global crude oil supply following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The ease in demand indicates passengers are holding back from booking pricey tickets. According to Adobe, prices surpassed pre-pandemic levels in April for the third month in a row, rising 27% more than 2019 levels and 8% more than prices in March.

Despite elevated prices, travel demand is still above pre-pandemic levels. Online spend grew 23% in April compared to the same month in 2019, while bookings rose by 5%, according to Adobe. The gap shows that consumers "have been paying considerably more for the same amount of service," Adobe said.

Passengers have already spent $28.8 billion on online domestic flight bookings in 2022, over twice as much as what was spent in the first four months of 2021, the data added.