Airlines are joining in on Black Friday with major flight sales despite rising fuel costs (DAL, AAL, JBLU, LUV)

23.11.2018 19:04

Black Friday is perhaps the single most famous and historically important day of the year for US retailers.
Major airlines such as Delta, Emirates, Singapore, Southwest, EasyJet, Norwegian, JetBlue, and Ryanair have already posted discounted flights and vacation packages for Black Friday.
Airlines around the world have joined in on Black Friday in spite of the fact that a 50% increase in fuel costs this year have put a serious dent in their profits.
Many airlines began posting their deals a day or two before Thanksgiving.

Black Friday is perhaps the single most famous and historically important day of the year for retailers in the US.

Last year retailers did $5 billion in Black Friday business in online sales alone.

But the Friday after Thanksgiving is more than just cheap TVs and discounted laptops. Airlines have been jumping into the fray with tempting deals of their own.

This year's Black Friday sales come at a somewhat difficult time for airlines. Fuel prices have increased by more than 50% over the past year to levels unseen since mid-2014. Delta and American Airlines have said they will each have to spend an extra $2 billion this year to pay for pricer fuel. Emirates recently reported that its profits over the past six months have fallen 86% and the bulk of that can be attributed to fuel costs. Several major airline CEOs have hinted that they may have to curtail service on routes made unprofitable by this spike in prices.

In fact, the International Air Transport Association expect airline profits around the world to fall an 12% in spite of the fact that air travefl is projected to grow by a healthy 7%.

However, it's Black Friday and the world's airlines have come to the table with some seriously good deals.

This year most airlines started posting Black Friday flight deals a day or two before Thanksgiving, which fell on November 22.

Here are some of the best deals that are available for Black Friday 2018:

Emirates — The Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based mega carrier is offering a slew of discounted flights to its many destinations around the world. This includes $499 for a round trip between New York and Athens, Greece or just $449 for a round-trip between New York and Milan, Italy. The discount offer expires on November 24.
Singapore Airlines — The best airline in the world according to be both Skytrax and AirlineRatings.com, is offering deeply discounted fares on many of its US routes. Stand out deals include $450 for a round-trip between Los Angeles and Tokyo in economy as well as $990 for a round-trip from Newark to Singapore in premium economy on the longest flight in the world. Sale fares are available until November 26.
Ryanair — The Irish ultra-low-cost airline is offering one-way tickets between some European locations for under $6, including London to Barcelona, Edinburgh to Berlin, and Manchester to Brussels. Discounted fares will be available through November 26.
Southwest — Southwest is offering a $125 discount on US vacation packages and a $250 discount on international vacation packages. The discounts run through December 3.
WestJet — The Canadian low-cost carrier's Black Friday deals include one-way tickets from Toronto to Miami and Vancouver to Los Angeles for under $200. The deals are available through November 23.
Delta — Delta is offering discounted round-trip flights between the US and Europe, including Boston to Dublin and New York to Brussels. The discounts run through November 25.
American Airlines — American Airlines hasn't posted any flight deals. However, the airline has offered its frequent flyers the opportunity to earn up to 120,000 bonus miles if they buy or gift frequent flyer miles. The deal is available through November 26.
Cathay Pacific — The Hong Kong-based airline's Black Friday deals include round-trip flights between the US and Asia for under $600, including Boston, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles to Hong Kong. The deals are available through November 27.
JetBlue Vacation — JetBlue is offering a $150 discount on vacation packages if you spend at least $1,750. Use the code "gravybaby" to access the discount which is available until 11:59 pm ET on November 25.
Air Canada — Canada's national airline's Black Friday deals include one-way flights from New York to Barcelona for around $290 while a flight from New York to Hong Kong will cost just $20 more. The discounts are available until 11:59 pm ET on November 25.
Aer Lingus — Irish Airline Aer Lingus is offering $50 off round-trip tickets on flights to Europe from cities including New York, Boston, Chicago, and Washington D.C. West Coast cities such as Los Angles, San Francisco, and Seattle get a $100 discount on flights to Europe. This deal is available until 6:59 pm ET on November 28.
Norwegian Air — Norwegian Air will offer a 15% discount on all long-haul flights from the US and Canada. This includes more than 60 destinations in Europe, Asia, and the Carribean. The discount also covers the airlines premium cabin. No discount code necessary. The sale starts Friday, November 23 at 12:01 am ET and ends on Monday, November 26 at 11:59 pm ET.
WOW Air — Instead of Black Friday, the Icelandic ultra-low-cost carrier is holding a Purple Friday sale in reference to its brightly painted planes. Deals include $99 one-way tickets from Los Angeles to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and London. The sale is on now and ends November, 25.
EasyJet — The British low-cost carrier is offering £50 or $64 discounts on more than 60,000 "City Breaks" or its flight and hotel packages. For example, a three-night weekend trip to Barcelona from London including flights and hotel for just £140 or $179 per person. No discount code necessary. The sale ends at midnight on November 28.
Alitalia — Italy's national airline is offering discounts on its US routes for Black Friday. This includes $653 for a round trip between New York and Milan. This deal expires at midnight on November 27.