Houston travelers brace for summer sticker shock as World Cup demand drives up airfare

HOUSTON — The constant sound of luggage carousels is heard throughout Bush International’s busy Terminal A.

One by one people pick up their bags after flying into IAH.

“We travel everywhere. We travel so much,” Pamela Silva said.

Silva and Amaro Goke are ready for their next adventure and know it could cost them.

“The prices are crazy, but yeah, it’s definitely going to be way more now,” Silva said.

Rising summer flight prices is the topic of conversation for travelers.

“It’ll certainly make us reconsider how many trips we would be taking to different places and maybe slow the travel a little bit,” Lorine Uwirth-Hirsch said.

The same flight you could buy right now could cost hundreds more in June or July.

“Let’s put it this way, the airlines and hotels and others that are part of the travel ecosystem are very excited about, uh, the World Cup coming to the USA,” Henry Harteveldt said.

Houston is hosting seven games this summer and 500,000 visitors are expected in Houston for the World Cup games.

Harteveldt said cheap flights  will be hard to come by.

“Travelers inbound to host cities will probably be paying more than they expected in terms of airfare,” Harteveldt said. “Most visitors though are expected to fly and of course the big question is, well, what does that mean for airfare? Airlines are not dummies. They are no dummies. They’re going to raise the prices as much as they can.”

Economist Ray Perryman weighs in on just how much more could you pay to fly.

“These prices are gonna be driven by supply and demand, and there’s going, there’s going to be a lot of demand relative to the supply,” Perryman said. “I suspect you’re gonna see the prices go up significantly.”

This means your flight price could be impacted even if you’re not coming to watch the World Cup and are just trying to get home.

Is there a way to get a cheaper flight?

Harteveldt said you could try to play the waiting game to see if the demand isn’t quite there like the airlines think meaning prices could lower. He also said be careful as this process is not a guarantee.