In a review of airfares published last month by the French civil aviation authority, the Direction générale de l’aviation civile (DGAC), the agency report that prices from France to other destinations in Europe had increased on average by 54.5% in a year.
Flights to long-haul destinations had increased by 28.8%, whilst internal flights by an average of 42.3%.
Although much of the increase is attributed to the increase in fuel costs as a result of the war in Ukraine, the agency consider that the explanation is not so simple.
Another factor has been the strong recovery in demand after two years of restrictions and an offer that does not match it. "The fluctuation of supply and demand has played a lot on the increase in prices," notes the DGAC.
With the reopening of borders everywhere this summer there has been a significant growth in traffic, but one that has not been matched by a return to capacity levels in 2019.
As has occurred elsewhere, following Covid there has been a shortage of ground staff at many French airports, and airlines have reduced flights and destinations, thereby inevitably leading to an increase in prices for the fewer seats available.
The airlines also point to more general increases in their costs, notably those of wages, driven by inflation. Transavia the low-cost airline has reported an increase in general costs of between 10% and 20%.
Laurent Timsit, director general of the aviation employers' professional body, the Fédération nationale de l’aviation et de ses métiers (Fnam), also considers there is another explanation, which is a change in in travellers’ behaviour, with last minute bookings becoming more commonplace. "Since 2019", he states, "people have been booking more at the last moment for fear of having to cancel their flights. So we have seen a change in habits. This summer, what played a lot was a late lifting of Covid restrictions: demand materialised late and supply struggled to keep up,"
Inevitably, if a booking is made late, the price will be higher, and airlines have used the policy to try and rebuild their balance sheets after two years of losses.
For transport economist Emmanuel Combe, low-cost airlines will be the main beneficiaries of the general increase in costs, as passengers switch to them. "For the same distance in Europe, Ryanair is able to transport a passenger at 3 cents per km, against 5 cents for a middle-cost like EasyJet and 9 cents for a traditional company," he states.
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