Cheap Award Tickets Are Getting Easier to Find
Skift Take
On the surface, more inexpensive award tickets may sound like a good sign for air travelers. But with the supply of award miles shrinking and cheap seats only available on select routes, the news is just a silver lining on a much bigger, darker cloud.
A new study measuring airline award ticket availability suggests that low-cost award tickets are getting easier to book.
The bad news is that an increasing percentage of airlines are also tying award seat prices to corresponding revenue tickets – so while more ultra-low-cost tickets are now available, those seats only correspond to the least expensive routes. Put another way, deal hunters keen on looking for the bargain basement award seat from the US to Europe or in First Class on a partner airline, may find this news troubling.
The other bad news, as Skift's Brian Sumers detailed earlier this week, is that consumers are now earning fewer miles than ever thanks to new rules around revenue-based award mileage rates.
Even so, for those with a glut of miles or thrifty spending habits, the st
