They had to remain stable, or even decrease. And instead the prices of airline tickets will increase this summer. At least for the main seasonal destinations in Italy and the rest of the world. In August, flight tickets from Rome and Milan will grow on average by 20%, with peaks of up to 68%. In short, expensive flights are back, even though the price of fuel is falling and management costs are stable.
Of course, airlines are suffering from the increase in demand in the face of a still stagnant supply, given the problems of aircraft manufacturers (Airbus and Boeing), but profits are skyrocketing. Especially those of the so-called “low cost”. «The tension on prices – according to Andrea Giuricin, one of the leading experts in the aviation sector in Italy – will not stop easily in the coming months». The same is recorded by travel agencies, united under the umbrella of Fto-Confcommercio. For president Franco Gattinoni, “for now there is no sign of a reduction in ticket costs”. All the increases are calculated by a study by Assoutenti-Cnc, previewed by Il Messaggero. Booking a return flight today for the week of August, a family with two children spends an average of 686 euros to fly from Rome to Cagliari, 20% more than a year ago. Almost a thousand euros, then, to go from Milan to Brindisi, with a leap of 15%. Between Rome and Olbia, however, you pay 924 euros, 15.5% more.
THE DESTINATIONS
As for international flights, to travel from Rome to Tenerife a single passenger pays an average of 649 euros for the return trip (+28.8%). And again: to go from Rome to Sharm el-Sheikh, in Egypt, you pay 993 euros, almost 400 more than in the same period in 2023 (+63.3%). Significant increases also for the most luxurious or niche destinations. For the Rome-Maldives route it reaches almost 2 thousand euros (+44.2%), for the Milan-Bodrum route (Turkish town with important tourist flows) 800 euros (+68%).
In the first months of this year, after a slightly rising second half of 2023, the price of aviation fuel is falling. The latest data available, that of May 31st, shows the so-called jet fuel falling by 11.1% compared to the same month a year ago. «However – Giuricin reports – demand from passengers grew by around 10% at the beginning of 2024, compared to an offer that is still slightly lower than 2019 levels (-0.2%)».
Not only. “Geopolitical tensions – he adds – do not help to return to normality, because in certain areas the supply may have been reduced”. However, the record profits of the companies remain, starting from the low cost ones. They are now completely out of the pandemic declines, thanks to the boost in ticket prices. Ryanair closed the 2024 fiscal year with a net profit of 1.92 billion, up 34% in one year. Easyjet returned to profit by 535 million at the end of 2023 and WizzAir, despite a quarter of the fleet being stopped due to engine problems, has profits of 366 million in the 2024 financial year. These companies, after the launch of some offers at low prices, had promised to keep ticket prices unchanged for this summer. But something doesn’t add up, because their offers also contribute to the overall data calculated by Assoutenti, especially for domestic flights.
THE ANTITRUST INVESTIGATION
A recent UBS report also indicates that air flight prices are increasing, although overall it predicts moderate increases between July and September: 2-3% more. Deutsche Bank, on the other hand, reports that the rates for July, advertised in May by the companies, are slightly decreasing compared to 2023. But these data do not isolate the most popular destinations and the periods in which people fly the most, starting from August 15th.
In all of this, travel agencies, after the halt to the Antitrust precautionary proceedings against Ryanair for alleged damage to them and consumers, are asking for more planning on flights, so as not to compromise the packages they sell. But also certainties on the Ita-Lufthansa merger, stalled by the EU Commission. The Antitrust, however, is still keeping proceedings open against Ryanair for alleged restrictions on the sale of tickets to agencies, as well as a general investigation into the use of algorithms to raise the prices of flights to Sardinia and Sicily. For this reason it commissioned some experts to take a photograph of the routes and fares for the islands, from which it would emerge that from 2019 to today prices have almost doubled, primarily involving the low cost companies, de facto in oligopoly.
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