The bill is hefty for Fabienne’s family: +600 euros for this long-awaited trip to the United States. Between the significant increases in the United States and those related to the petrol crisis, holiday prices are soaring.
While some households in Réunion change their plans after the price hikes, others are bearing the brunt. This family from the south of the island had already paid for the trip, but extra costs keep piling up one after another.
Outside of the petrol crisis, prices to access national parks have also sharply increased in the United States. “The agency negotiated a total increase for the duration of the stay of 70 euros per person, which adds up to 280 euros since there are four of us,” recounts the mother.
The ESTA also turned out to be more expensive than expected, “the Electronic System for Travel Authorization which was originally 21 dollars, has now gone up to 40 dollars, which is 35 euros per person,” she laments.
The petrol crisis then hit as well. “The first surcharge was on the coach fuel, we were asked for an increase of 56 euros per person, which amounts to 224 euros for all four of us. There is also the fuel for buses on American soil, and then the cost of kerosene: ’24 hours later we were asked again for a kerosene tax of 70 euros per person, which is a total of 280 for us,'” explains Fabienne, a mother traveling to the United States.
The trip had been booked in August 2025, Fabienne understands the extra costs but says, “&It’s starting to add up for my 60th birthday trip.”
Can airlines claim a supplement? “This surge in plane ticket prices was inevitable,” warned the director-general of the International Air Transport Association. Due to the rise in petrol prices, airlines are also increasing their fares, with fuel representing a quarter of the operating cost of a route for airlines.
But do they have the right to claim a supplement? No, once the contract is concluded, the price cannot be unilaterally modified, but travel agencies can do so. Prices may increase, but only if it is stipulated in the contract and justified by the evolution of fuel costs.
