Lucila Rodaro, Managing Consultant, Multimodal
If managing travel budgets feels harder than it did a year ago, you’re not imagining it.
According to Advito’s Q3 2026 Travel Price Index, airfare pressure shows little sign of easing. Many markets continue to experience elevated fares, driven by airline capacity discipline, sustainability-related investments, fuel price volatility, and operational cost pressures.
For travel managers, this means the market is no longer simply recovering. Higher fares are increasingly being driven by structural factors, making it more important than ever to focus on value rather than discounts alone. In today’s market, the biggest discount does not always deliver the biggest savings.
1. Prioritize total value over discounts
Many travel programs still measure sourcing success by the size of negotiated discounts. While discounts remain important, they are only one part of the value equation.
In today’s market, the airlines offering the largest discounts are not necessarily the ones delivering the best results for the travel program. In other words, a large discount on paper does not automatically translate into meaningful savings. For example, a 15% discount may look attractive, but if travelers rarely have access to the discounted inventory or frequently choose another carrier, the realized savings can fall well below expectations. Similarly, if travelers book outside preferred channels or competing airlines consistently offer lower market fares, the real value of the agreement may be limited.
Rather than focusing solely on discount percentages, travel managers should evaluate airline partnerships through a broader lens:
- Are travelers consistently able to access negotiated fares?
- Does the airline align with key business destinations?
- Is the agreement delivering measurable savings versus the market?
- Are travelers actually adopting the preferred carrier?
The most successful agreements are not always those offering the deepest discounts. They are the ones that consistently deliver value to both travelers and the business.
2. Adopt a more dynamic sourcing strategy
As market conditions continue to evolve rapidly, you need a dynamic approach to keep your program competitive. Airlines are adjusting capacity, schedules, and pricing strategies in response to changing demand patterns and geopolitical developments.
As a result, annual sourcing reviews are becoming less effective on their own. Leading travel programs are moving toward a more continuous approach, regularly monitoring agreement performance and market developments throughout the year.
The objective is not to react to every market shift. It is to ensure that sourcing strategies remain aligned with current market realities and emerging opportunities.
3. Focus on what you can control
As a travel manager, you cannot influence fuel costs, airline network decisions, or geopolitical events. You can, however, influence traveler behavior.
In a high-fare environment, relatively small changes can have a significant impact. Encouraging earlier booking, improving policy compliance, promoting lower-cost alternatives where appropriate, and consolidating travel demand can all help reduce spend without compromising business objectives.
Organizations that combine proactive demand management with market intelligence are often best positioned to offset ongoing fare increases.
The Bottom Line
Advito’s Q3 2026 Travel Price Index indicates that airfare pressure is likely to remain throughout the remainder of the year. While market conditions vary across regions, the broader trend remains clear: airlines continue to maintain pricing power in many corporate travel markets.
As a result, successful travel programs will focus less on headline discounts and more on maximizing the value generated by airline agreements, traveler behavior, and sourcing strategy. The organizations achieving the strongest results are continuously reviewing performance against market conditions, adapting their strategy, and proactively managing demand.
In today’s market, competitive advantage comes not from securing the largest discount, but from building a travel program that consistently delivers measurable value.