06/14/2026
Why are international airfares SO expensive right now? And how do you beat those prices?
The majority of airlines have added a fuel surcharge that is called a YR or YQ surcharge, and it is often nearly as high the base airfare (in some cases higher). There are, however, airlines that charge a minimal surcharge or a minimal base fare, and it makes a huge difference in the final price.
Here is a sample of what I see when booking air travel in my reservation system. These samples are for the same dates of departure in September, Denver to Rome roundtrip, economy class.
Carrier 1: Base fare = $917.00, fuel surcharge is $650.00 and then when you add all the other fees/taxes you have a total of $1697.93
BASE FARE TAXES/FEES/CHARGES
1- USD917.00 XT770.93 USD TTL 1687.93
YQ 650.00 YQ 46.80 US 7.39 YC 7.00 XY 3.84
XA 5.60 AY 2.50 EX 29.00 IT 3.70 VT 9.20 HB 1.40 MJ 4.50XF
TOTAL:USD1687.93
Carrier 2: Base fare is $199.00 (yep, that's right), fuel surcharge $564.00 and then add all the other fees/taxes and you have a total of $930.13.
BASE FARE TAXES/FEES/CHARGES
1- USD199.00 XT731.13 USD TTL 930.13
XT 30.00 YQ 564.00 YR 46.80 US 7.39 YC 7.00 XY 3.84 XA 5.60 AY 11.60 TR 2.50 EX 29.00 IT 3.70 VT 9.20 HB 1.40 MJ 4.60 M6 4.50 XF 4.50
TOTAL:USD930.13
It pays to shop and that is one reason a Travel Agent is still relevant in the age of websites. I do not work in a scripted environment that limits me to one airline but I have access to shop/compare them all at once.
This is part of an availability screen I see when searching for Seattle to London flights. Every one of the letters listed next to a flight number represents a different fare category. For example: BA48 (British Airways flight 48) has two different fares for First class, five different fares for business class, two for premium economy, and 12 for coach/economy.
It's certainly not like the old days when I first started in this business and we had F, Y, and K (First, coach, and peanut fares :-))
