Air travel picked up at the end of 2009

The Transportation Department's Bureau of Transportation announced Wednesday that the average domestic airfare dropped 7.4 percent in the last three months of 2009.

The drop in prices was the largest for the airline industry since 2001 when many people feared flying after the attacks on the World Trade Center.  That came as great news for travelers who were searching for cheap airfare during the busy holiday travel season.

Since the beginning of 2010 however prices have slowly been rising, but nothing like the highs that were seen 18-24 months ago. The average fare a customer paid in fourth quarter 2009 was $319, which is down from a $358 average that was the all-time high set during third quarter 2008.

The fares quoted did not include airline fees, such as baggage charges, in the calculations. Have you been traveling more since airfares have come down from 2008's highs?

Source: Associated Press

Flickr: ricoeurian