NYC to Los Angeles: $75 r/t. Atlanta to Boston: $94. San Francisco to Miami: $217. Chicago to Tampa: $43. We’re talking round-trip, non-stop flights.
Hundreds of daily flights are currently the cheapest they’ve been in decades, due to coronavirus, some hitting the lowest in aviation history, and many experts say busy routes are significantly cheaper than post 9-11. I agree. I’m seeing some of the craziest, most unbelievable airfare deals ever in my 16-year travel career.
In fact, I almost can’t believe the airfare for the next few months. You won’t find these deals advertised on airline websites because they don’t necessarily want you to know how low the fares are. In short, here are some sample round-trip fares I found:
New York City to New Orleans: $43
New York City to Los Angeles: $75
Atlanta to Boston: $94
San Francisco to Miami: $131
New York City to San Juan, Puerto Rico: $61
If you search airfares from any destination, whether they are cities I listed or not, you may be shocked with how *extreme* the low prices are. And you don’t have to search hard for them. They all come up on Google Flights.
First, I randomly searched NYC to New Orleans. Direct, round-trip flights were $43 (see below). This is with Spirit Airlines, a budget carrier, but it was only $81 r/t with legacy airlines, like United. Just so you know, tickets are normally $250 to $300.
I checked Atlanta to Boston, which is $94 round-trip on Jetblue, which is more than half the normal fare.
And non-stop San Francisco to Miami, typically $400, were half off, around $197 with American and United (only $131 r/t with connection on Frontier). Business class? As low as $545 r/t. 
Going coast to coast, New York City to Los Angeles is typically $300 to $400 per trip, and these flights are currently as low as $75 round-trip (one connection).
Have you ever seen deals this cheap in the past 20 years? I know I haven’t. I’ve been working in the travel industry since 2002, and these fares are even greater than the average fares post 9/11. Some airlines are slashing capacity up to 40 percent, like Delta, according to AP News, because people are just not flying, so the fares will continue to go down.
This airplane seat decreases your chance of getting coronavirus, according to public health officials
You can also go international and bucket-list destinations for ridiculous prices.
Just look at NYC to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Round-trip, direct flights are as low as $61 r/t with Frontier Airlines, and not that much more with Delta, JetBlue and United, for a measly $85 round-trip. The average ticket price this time of year is about $250 to $380.
So should you fly right now?
I talked about flying during coronavirus in my latest Youtube video, discussing whether you should cancel your flight or trip for safety reasons. Ultimately, you should make a decision based on your comfort level.
However, since I published the video, there have been new developments. Trump blocked all travel to Europe from the US (and vice versa) starting March 13 for 30 days. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention categorized 30 countries as Warning Level 3. Government officials are trying to detain the spread of coronavirus, because at this point, the outbreak (officially deemed a pandemic last week) has been moving fast.
Bottom line: DO NOT Travel Right Now.
Even though you can get the cheapest flights during coronavirus, pretty soon, you may not want to fly. So if you are going to take advantage of these deals, you need to make the trip worth it, like visiting your elderly parents.
All airlines have been playing the part in implementing strict operational actions, and as I stated in my video, the likelihood of becoming in contact with coronavirus is the same as taking any public transportation, as per World Health Organization, if that helps peace of mind.
Also, keep in mind, you can still buy a ticket now until the end of the month with any airline and not be charged any change fees if you decide to make changes. Every airline has a different policy, so be sure to check, if you plan to travel, but again, I recommend that, even though flights are cheapest in history due to coronavirus, you should not travel right now.
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Happy travels!
Jimmy Im has traveled to 113 countries, stayed in over 600 hotels and has flown a million airmiles. He lives in New York City.