I would buy now. We are going to New Zealand and Australia in November and we already purchased our tickets, plus domestic tix in Australia before the Iran war started. I’m in the US also and it will get worse before it gets better.
Gas prices have gone up over $1 USD per gallon where I live in a week! The gas is already at the station. They rise at the slightest reason! It just makes me mad. Contracts don’t mean much at the pump.
@petintuition, interesting observation.
We’ve found that Pet Parents vary enormously in their attitude to housesitters. A modest minority can’t see past free-accommodation, tend to leave negligible consumables and see housesitter as free labour. We’ve met a few, and would not return. But they are not representative of ‘normal’ and a long way from ‘fabulous’ mindsets. After 60+ housesits, we’ve never paid for utilities. If situation merited then we’d certainly consider paying for utilities, but housesitting is a give-take trade so they would need to be a commensurate upside.
Airlines have long-term contracts with suppliers and lock in at a certain market rate so cost of fuel will not be what drives fares up or down in the next 6 months. Try not to panic, but if you feel pressed to purchase now perhaps purchase a changeable or refundable ticket so at least if your plans change you’re not trapped. I never buy air tickets more than 3 weeks out because I know life happens and plans always change, because they do!
That’s gas prices at the pump in the US, that’s not speaking for fuel prices around the world. You should feel blessed with the prices you do see at the pump, fuel prices in Europe are twice as much than those in the US during non-conflict times!
@august Germany last summer? More than $6.00 USD per gallon, and anywhere you’d want to go is at least an hour’s drive from where you are, and their rail system, DB, is the worst in mainland Europe, on top of it all!
I wouldn’t be so sure. Airlines’ greed is well known, and they can use the current crisis as a pretext to raise prices. I will be traveling next week. I have my tickets, but I just checked the prices out of curiosity. They are definitely higher than they were last week, and the budget airlines have raised their prices the most.
@august I’ve been looking at flights between the UK and Australia and they’ve not changed much at all over the last week! Yes, I appreciate airlines doing whatever they choose in order to make a profit but I also remember flights during Covid being extraordinarily inexpensive so there is no telling what their response will be, or what the response of consumers will be in return!
@avidtraveler @mikomeko Thank you for your thoughts. We found reasonable fares today and bought our tix for July. 
Oil prices went down slightly with the release of an emergency stock pile a few days ago but prices have shot back up with the recent attacks on oil tankers around the middle east. Listening to some experts they suggest oil could hit $200 a barrel soon due to the world wide critical short supply with many countries and businesses supplies likely to last only a matter of months at best. I believe the UK has 2 months left whereas Spain only has a month of supplies at moment.
Listened to the MD of a UK freight movement company that works across Europe and he stated his weekly costs have increased by £10000!!
We would never pay for utilities HOWEVER over Xmas we used so many of the HOs logs we did actually buy two big sacks to add to the log pile!
Summer travel is just not looking good. 
I’ve already booked flights with Qantas, AirNZ and Vietnam Airlines and they all have announced that they will be jet fuel shortages. AirNZ has already announced 1100 flight cancellations.
QANTAS is now charging a 5% surcharge for fuel due to having to fly further to avoid the war zone and says that it may increase the surcharge even further.
There is no longer a non stop London to Perth flight (
) as it can’t make it in one hop due to the increased distance and the quantity of fuel it carries. It’ll now do a fuel stop in Singapore….
I think more people will be using local sitters.
@BonnyinBrighton Malaysian Airlines increased their fuel levy on all new bookings a week ago also. I think most airlines will have no choice. Obviously a flight from Oz to Europe is a loooong flight. I agree that more people will need to use local sitters. We have, apparently, 29 days of aviation fuel left here. Has ruined my planned trip that’s for sure 
(Edited in line with the Forum Guidelines)
On a related topic - many homeowners in rural locations in U.K. are discussing the rising cost of heating oil which is becoming unaffordable some have run out and are not able to refill and others are restricting its use for themselves -
Something for sitters applying for rural sits in U.K. to keep in mind and potentially discuss with hosts .
Yes currently 6 cruise ships are stuck in Dubai most of the passengers have managed to get out but some have not. If you are a sitter it’s worth checking if people’s travel arrangements are the same since you were confirmed to sit. A lot of future cruises and holidays are now cancelled. Some people I was going to sit for were due to go to Dubai and it was changed to Thailand but now that has been cancelled as well.
My electric is coming down next month due to changes in the standing charges in the UK. I’m on a fix till June. Although I fear any money I save from standing charge coming down will be more than eaten up post my fix ending.