Moneybox Welcome to $684 Basic Economy Summer War and fuel prices are driving up airfare—but travelers are about to find out which costs may never come back down. By Enter your email to receive alerts for this author. Sign in or create an account to better manage your email preferences. Unsubscribe from email alerts Are you sure you want to unsubscribe from email alerts for Alex Kirshner ? May 12, 2026 12:41 PM Al Drago/Getty Images Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. As the calendar was turning to May, my wife and her best friends from high school were trying to book a summer trip to Toronto. They’d be coming from New Orleans, Los Angeles, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. While picking through the Google Flights options, several of them reached the daunting realization that their basic economy tickets would cost them somewhere between $600 and $700.…