Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past year or so, it is certainly no secret that the economy is in trouble, airlines are struggling and almost everything in the travel industry seems to be deeply discounted. From low airfares to cut-rate hotel rooms, airlines and hotels have been forced to lower prices to encourage people to travel. However, lowering prices hasn’t been the only way airlines have attempted to cut losses that have been adding up to enormous sums lately. According to a column in USA Today about air travel, the top ten U.S. airlines combined have reported a loss of nearly $2.5 billion so far this year. In light of these losses and the diminishing number of travelers (especially business travelers), and airlines have been cutting costs by eliminating unprofitable routes and reducing both domestic and international capacity.

So, what does this all mean for you? As of late it has meant for really low fares on flights to just about everywhere. In an effort to get more people traveling (and filing up those airplanes), the airlines have been dropping ticket prices in a pretty big way. In fact, usually higher summer airfares have stayed low through July. However, the era of ridiculous low airfares may be coming to an end.

According to Bing.com travel (formerly farecast.com), domestic economy-class fares have declined, but they very well be creeping back up again. USA Today reports that the average round-trip domestic airfare was $274, down 25% from June of last year, but up 8.3% from June. With rising fuel prices this trend may very well continue to raise airfares even more. This means we may have already hit the bottom of the low fares and could be well on our way to more expensive air travel.

With airfares on their way back up, I have been trying to knock off a few more destinations from my list of “places I’d like to go” while it’s still cheap to fly. Growing up and living in the West, I have not had much opportunity to explore the Northeast, though I have always had a desire to see Boston. The huge number of university and colleges make the city an fresh, young and exciting place, while the history of the city gives it a feeling of historical importance and age you just don’t get in the West (I mean, the state I live in wasn’t even seen by Lewis and Clark until after the turn of the 19th century).

After doing a brief search this morning, I found that flights to Boston in August were only $283 round-trip, down a significant amount from when I check for flights this time last year. With an affordable flight possible, I am suddenly once again drawn to the city where rebellious Americans tossed tea bags into the harbor and John Pulling signaled Paul Revere the British were coming with the famous lantern signals in the Old North Church in Boston.

Now is also a great time to take advantage of more than just low airfares. Hotels are also hurting in this down economy. With fewer people traveling, many rooms at hotels are left empty, which has encouraged hotels to cut their rates, offer free nights, give cash back or resort credit all to encourage people to stay with them. This is another reason it would be a perfect time for me to finally get a cheap hotel in Boston and explore Bean-town. With all the extra money I saved on my flight and hotel, I may just be able to afford to go to a Red Sox game and buy a few beers while I’m there.