UNITED STATES—It is no secret America, if you’re planning to travel rather its be car, bus, train or plane it is going to cost a lot more people. Gas prices are bouncing up and down in recent months and as a result it’s costing all sorts of headaches for the public. I mean the cost of a plane ride is just ridiculous right now and I mean ridiculous. Over the summer, I had initially planned a family trip to Hawaii, but that was soon abandoned when gas prices went from $3 to nearly $6 a gallon.

A flight to Hawaii that was initially predicted around $1000 skyrocketed to over $2500. Yeah, that trip was not happening because as bad as I needed a vacation, there was no way I planned to spend that much money on a flight and then have no money while on vacation. That defeats the purpose. So I pivoted to taking a trip to Las Vegas and even those flights were high.

Nearly a decade ago when I first traveled to Las Vegas a round trip flight was about $400. This time around the flights were between $700 to $800, some a lot more depending on when you fly. Never fly on weekends or near holidays because the cost of a flight will double people. It is not just the cost of the flight that is the problem it’s the hidden fees. I mean you see on these various websites that barter flight packages and such that the total cost is X, Y and Z. However, that is not the case.

Initially the round trip flight to Las Vegas was to be around $250 (there and back), however, once you start to add on luggage fees and other fees it was an extra $100 on the flight. Like, seriously! Add the luggage fees and all these other surprise fees to the entire costs, don’t stick it to the consumer after the fact and then wonder why they’re so upset. No one likes hidden fees when it comes to paying for goods or services and the flying industry is doing it the worst.

Hell, I have been talking to people as of late who are planning trips for 2023 and they’ve noted the cost of a flight to Florida is just ridiculous right now. I mean can you imagine paying $1,000 for a round trip to Florida for just 1 person. Yes, America that is one person. That is crazy, especially when you’re traveling from a place that is NOT that far. It feels like the airplane industry is capitalizing on the chaos of inflation right now. People might be making more money, but it is being spent back out on transportation fees people.

On top of that, if you’re in a car it costs way more to fill up the gas tank which means everyday trips and transportation is nearly double. The same if you’re traveling by train or bus, the cost to go anywhere is way more than what it used to be and it does not seem to be stopping anytime soon which is the frustrating element. People want to vacation, but if you cannot afford to vacation then you cannot vacation.

It is just so disappointing that no matter how far in advance you book a trip right now, the costs are not changing, you’re going to spend more, but the kicker is you have these hidden fees being tacked on that no one is willing to tell you about until you’re about to check out.

Written By Jason Jones