Flights from Europe to the US are in a slump. Cheap tickets are easy to find.

 

“Concerns about being turned away at the border and about safety while in the United States are the main reasons why airlines are reporting a sharp decline in demand for travel to the US.

Not all airlines, however, are experiencing this problem. In Europe, there are two carriers that aren't complaining about the American recession: LOT Polish Airlines and Turkish Airlines.

The decline in demand for flights from Europe to the US was already evident during the summer holidays.

During this year's peak holiday season, carriers used various promotions to fill their planes during the traditionally high demand period. However, they flew at lower prices than last year. September brought a sharp decline in demand for flights from Europe to the US, so prices also dropped sharply.

But not everyone did. While Air France, KLM, Swiss, Lufthansa, and Finnair have lowered their ticket prices, LOT and Turkish Airlines are maintaining their holiday prices.

If we wanted to fly from Poland to New York next Monday, September 15th, and return a month later, we would pay the least by choosing Finnair—even under 2,000 PLN (550 USD) for a round trip. Round trip tickets can be found for under 3,000 PLN on Lufthansa (connecting in Frankfurt), Swiss (via Zurich), Air France (via Paris), and KLM (via Amsterdam). Of course, all of these fares have restrictions; tickets are non-refundable, departure and return dates cannot be changed, and they apply to economy class travel.

 

However, with Turkish Airlines, a trip with similar restrictions and a connection in Istanbul costs no less than 5,200 PLN. With LOT, the only airline offering direct flights between Poland and the US, prices are even 400 PLN higher. Prices remained similar during the past summer holidays. Poland and Turkey are the only countries not seeing a decline in Europe-US traffic. "We are definitely expanding, not shrinking, in connections between Poland and the United States. By the end of August, LOT had operated 2,414 flights to the US, carrying nearly 580,000 passengers, which translates to an increase of over 11% compared to last year," says Krzysztof Moczulski, LOT spokesman. But there were also more seats on the planes—over 13%.

Losses in US Tourism: $30 Billion Less

This doesn't change the fact that Americans are already counting losses in tourism, which, according to forecasts from the beginning of the year, was expected to generate record revenues. It's already clear that the loss won't be $200 billion, but at least $30 billion less. The United States is the only country to see a decline in foreign visitors this year.

Canadians are avoiding the US and increasingly choosing the Caribbean and Latin America in general, or spending their holidays at home. Asians are more likely than ever to fly to Europe, especially France, Italy, Greece, and Spain. Western Europeans, on the other hand, are traveling to the Middle East, where Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi are rapidly growing in popularity.

 

There are also more flights from Europe to the Caribbean and South America, as well as domestic travel.

According to data from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Canadians will visit the US this year by at least 18 percent less compared to 2024. In previous years, they constituted the largest number of visitors to the United States.

Fewer American Tourists. Things are bad, and things are expected to get worse.

The United States' share of global tourism is also rapidly declining. According to data from the American Tourism Economics, in 1996 it was 8.4 percent, in 2024 – 4.9 percent, and this year it will not exceed 4.2 percent. "And there's no reason to expect this share to increase in the coming years," Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics, commented on the situation on CNBC. Tourism Economics statistics show that in the first half of 2025, there were one million fewer tourists in the US than in 2024. This decline is expected to deepen in the coming months, and forecasts for the entire year suggest a negative 13 million arrivals.

 

Why is this happening?

Rob Hawkins, a Briton who has spent many years vacationing in the US, put it best.

 

"For me, the United States was synonymous with rock and roll, NASA, jazz, bourbon, Hollywood, MTV, hip hop, Olympic gold medalists, innovation, strength and respect, and apple pie. And that's why I went there. Not for fear of crossing the border, armies on the streets of Washington and Los Angeles, and the deep division of the country we are now witnessing," Hawkins said on CNN.”