As more people travel, costs for trips increase

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.- More people are traveling, and they’re finding that the cost of many trips is way up.

Airports like Albuquerque’s Sunport are slowly getting back to normal. There are more and more flights available, but demand is still higher than supply, and many prices are rising for all aspects of travel.

KOB 4 talked to travelers at the Sunport Wednesday.

“Just looking forward to going and seeing family and visiting them for the first time since the pandemic started,” said Katie Leguizamon.

But it can be costly.

“It was like $300 for a one-way ticket,” she said.

“Now, yeah, it’s crazy. Fares have really gone up,” said Brent Hunsberger, who took a trip to New Mexico.

From Denver to Disneyland, many people are itching to go somewhere, and activity at the Sunport is getting closer to normal.

“We’re still trending in a really good direction,” spokesperson Stephanie Kitts said.

The airport is still at about 60% of the activity it had before the pandemic, and officials are still working on getting the number of flights back up to normal.

“We’re very happy that we’re getting some of the direct flights back that we lost, that were suspended,” Kitts said.

A local travel agent says that from booking hotels to having fun, costs for most trips here and all over the world are way up. They’ve doubled in many cases.

“There is definitely pent-up demand, and what we’re finding are prices have drastically increased,” said Alfred Volden of All World Travel.

He recommends that people plan ahead and have some flexibility.

“If you’re very set on specific dates, be prepared to pay more,” Volden said.

He’s seeing that many hotel prices have more than doubled, now starting at $600.

“And if you can find a rental car, you’re really fortunate,” he said.

Local travel agents say rental cars are expensive and hard to find right now. Some travelers are going another route.

“I just got an Uber because I wasn’t going to pay $150 a day,” Hunsberger said.

Local travel agents say it could be the fall or next year before travel prices get back to normal. But for some, their trip is too important.

“It’s our anniversary trip,” Erick Smith said.

When asked if they were able to book far in advance, his wife Mari said they slacked off.

“We did pay a little more, but we got the flight that we needed,” he said.

Sunport officials would like to remind everyone that they still have to wear a mask inside the building, to follow TSA rules.