How much has the cost of Transatlantic business class decreased since the pandemic?

As a result of inflation, the cost of air travel can seem ever more expensive, with many of us scouring the internet to find the best deal.

For the majority of passengers, the ticket cost is the primary concern when it comes to booking flights.

However, the good news is that air travel today may not be as expensive as we think, particularly when compared to historic ticket prices.

As reported by USA TODAY, data from aviation data and analytics firm Cirium shows that, on average, the cost of an economy class flight across the Atlantic increased to $435.17 in 2023, 14% more than in 2019.

Considering that the overall rate of inflation increased by 19% over the same period, a 9% increase does not seem so bad.

However, when looking at business class transatlantic flights over the same period, the results were even more surprising.

The average cost of a business class ticket across the Atlantic actually reduced by 3% between 2019 and 2023. Why have business class tickets in particular come down in price?

The primary reason for the decrease in the cost of the average transatlantic business class ticket is that following the pandemic, business travel has been slower to resume than leisure travel.

As a result, airlines have had to keep ticket prices competitive in order to encourage would-be business travelers to make a booking.

However, on the flip side of a decrease in corporate business travel, many airlines have experienced burgeoning premium leisure demand. This has led airlines worldwide to commence or enhance routes that would have perhaps not been on their radar prior to the pandemic, including:

Increased competition on many routes has also contributed to the decrease in the cost of transatlantic business class travel.

For most airlines, there is a lot of money to be made on transatlantic, with the London Heathrow (LHR) to New York (JFK) route alone generating more than $1 billion in passenger revenue.

This is why there are so many carriers flying between the US and Europe, and the largest transatlantic airlines are:

1. United Airlines
2. Delta Air Lines
3. American Airlines
4. British Airways
5. Air Canada.

The likes of low-cost newcomers such as Norse Atlantic Airways have also increased competition on certain routes, with fares often much lower than those on legacy carriers, particularly when it comes to one-way journeys.

That said, Norse Atlantic Airways does not offer full business class, with its premium cabin being more akin to the premium economy found onboard legacy airlines.

A search on Google Flights allows for an easy comparison of current business class ticket prices.

All airlines are currently offering the same price of $1,783 for a one-way ticket.

When looking at return business class options, returning to New York JFK one week later, the lowest fares come in at $2,909 with British Airways, American Airlines, and JetBlue.

With so much competition, the route between New York and London is often one of the cheapest options for transatlantic travel, but how does it compare to other routes to Europe?

The cheapest round-trip business class fares currently available for booking for travel on April 2nd to April 9th, 2025, for various routes are as follows:

Flying has never been cheaper, or at least when looked at in real terms.

In the early days of commercial air travel in the 1940s, a typical roundtrip flight between Los Angeles and Boston would have cost more than $4,000 in today's money, according to Travel & Leisure.

Since then, several major changes in the airline industry have revolutionized the market, making flying much more accessible.

Firstly, the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 meant that airfares were no longer controlled by the federal government, and airlines had to compete with each other to win over passengers.

This led to a dramatic lowering of fares; a trend which continued further with the arrival of low-cost and ultra-low-cost carriers. Today, the average one-way US domestic airfare comes in at $179.25.