Summer Travel: Pricier Plans

Summer trips in the United States are getting costlier in April, with regular gasoline above $4 a gallon and airlines raising fares and fees. (aaa.com, cnbc.com) AAA said the national average for regular gasoline was $4.15 on April 10, 2026, up from $4.08 on April 2 and $3.98 on March 26. The group said the average had not been that high since early August 2022. (aaa.com) The United States Energy Information Administration put the national regular gasoline average at $4.12 for the week of April 6, with California at $5.77, Washington at $5.23, Florida at $4.15 and Texas at $3.78. (eia.gov) Airfares are moving up, too. CNBC reported on April 8 that average domestic round-trip fares had risen to $350 from $336 since February 23, while average international economy fares climbed to $998 from $774, citing Kayak data. (cnbc.com) The Bureau of Labor Statistics said on April 10 that airline fares were one of the indexes that increased in March as the Consumer Price Index rose 0.9 percent for the month and 3.3 percent from a year earlier. (bls.gov) Travel demand has not disappeared. The Transportation Security Administration screened 2.85 million people on March 13, 2026, and 2.77 million on March 15, showing airport volumes still running at summer-like levels before the peak season begins. (tsa.gov) That mix of high demand and higher fuel costs is pushing travelers to rewrite plans instead of canceling them. Bankrate found 80 percent of summer vacationers were making changes because of inflation, including 29 percent choosing less expensive destinations or lodging and 26 percent taking fewer days or fewer trips. (bankrate.com) Google said its Flights tool shows whether a fare is low, typical or high compared with past averages, and it lets users track prices as dates change. Google also said flexible plans create more ways to save. (blog.google, support.google.com) For travelers booking now, the cheapest summer plan may be the one with the fewest fixed ideas: a midweek flight, a shorter stay, or a destination one state over. (cnbc.com, support.google.com)