Low-Cost Airfares No Longer Exist

The COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have both had a major impact on the increase of airfares across Europe.

SchengenVisaInfo.com reported that according to the statistics of the French Ministry of Ecological Transition ticket prices increased by 23.6% last year. Meanwhile, the travel booking site, Kayak, revealed that the price of international flights from the UK is up 18% compared to the year 2022.

"There's still a lot of pent-up demand for travel going back to the pandemic. And that demand - combined with rising inflation and high fuel costs - has kept flight prices high," Evan Day, Kayak's UK country manager, mentioned.

Prices have risen after sanctions were imposed against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren revealed recently that the increase of 71 percent in oil prices caused this year's airline fares to rise by 31 percent. Fuel accounts for around 30% of the airline's expenses.

The authorities also noticed that maintenance costs have increased sharply due to the scarcity and disruption of supply chains for certain metals. This has also affected the prices.

In order to mitigate the effects of staff shortages, some airports, such as Amsterdam's Schiphol or London Heathrow, have introduced passenger limits. Airlines were forced to adjust their schedules due to the situation.

As remote work becomes increasingly popular, business trips are declining, resulting in a greater dependence on revenue generated by economy seats. Airbus and Boeing are also struggling to deliver new planes, leaving airlines with less aircraft than expected.

Most organizations and studies show that the airlines are slowly reviving, as the pandemic comes to an end. Pascal Fabre, an AlixPartners specialist, says that the aviation industry is in a very good state and heading towards full recovery.

Fuel prices are still high, and could cause further strikes in the summer. Jens Bischof is the CEO of Eurowings. He says that rising fuel prices, airport and personnel costs, along with personnel costs will cause further increases in flight prices this year.

According to him, peak-season flights in 2022 will cost around 20% more than they do now.

The aviation industry will have to deal with more strict legislation to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, since the EU is intensifying its efforts to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

Source: schengenvisainfo.com