[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Flying may be moderately more expensive than it was 5-10 years ago, but it’s still much cheaper than it was 30-40 years ago. Back in the early 90s Canadians still used to drive across the country, or take the Greyhound. International air travel vacations were a costly, a once or twice a decade treat for a typical Canadian, not a routine once a twice a year expectation.

When my family moved to Calgary from Ontario in 1979, the cost of each one-way ticket for the four of us (my dad drove to bring the car and a bunch of belongings) was $400. That’s $1,573 in today’s dollars. For TOR-CAL one-way.

My first trip to Europe in 1989. Flew into Amsterdam in the shoulder season on the cheapest flight I could find - $800 return, or $3,141 in today’s dollars. I could book a return flight to Amsterdam today for $737. So about a quarter the cost.

To put that into context with other travel costs, a monthly youth eurorail pass cost $300 in 1989, or 38 per cent the cost of the transatlantic flight. That same pass today costs $576, or 78 per cent the cost of the flight. So even relative to the highly efficient and affordable European rail network, air travel today is half as expensive as it was when the Flames won the Cup.

People whose expectations of air travel were fostered in 2005-2020 - the cheapest time in history to fly - may have to recalibrate their expectations. Because the conditions that made air travel so cheap don’t look like they’re going to last a whole lot longer.

Right but is it essential or non-essential? That’s all that matters here.