CHARLOTTE — Travelers are facing higher costs when booking their tickets, and passengers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport told Channel 9′s Glenn Counts their wallets are taking a major hit.
LC Clark’s flight to Vegas was delayed, but that’s not what bothered him. It was the price that caught him by surprise.
“Normally, it’s probably around $700. This time, easily at $2000,” Clark said.
James Kirk bought a ticket for his wife and said he waited just a little bit too long.
“I went on and checked my wife’s flight, (and) I found it for 500 bucks and then went back after we decided to fly her up there to Indiana, (and) it went up 200 dollars,” Kirk said.
According to Forbes, airfares have increased 37.8 % this past year. The increase was almost too much for passenger Shelley Mclendon.
“I definitely would not have gone to this wedding if it wasn’t my cousin getting married. She was the first of all my cousins,” said Mclendon.
Mclendon told Counts she spent almost $800 on her flight but couldn’t afford to give a gift.
“My mom had to fork up all the cash. I just signed my name on the card and said ‘I’m here. Hello,’” Mclendon said.
In just the last month, plane ticket prices increased nearly 17%.
Experts said that airfares are among the products that have seen the steepest increases in the economy.
Despite the rising prices, planes are still full.
Charlotte Douglas is telling passengers to arrive to the airport two hours early for domestic flights and three hours early for international flights due to a higher volume of passengers expected.
(WATCH BELOW: Prices up in the air: Flights may be higher as travel returns for many)
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