Airline ticket prices are rising again for the summer, this time due to the adjustments that some airlines are planning due to the new green turning point adopted by the European Union. The first to announce the price increases is Lufthansa, which has changed its fares by adding a surcharge applicable starting from flights purchased from today, Wednesday 26 June 2024. Let’s find out what all the novelty that await us.
Increases in airline tickets: the reason
After the pandemic, we saw the airline ticket costs skyrocket: initially due to general inflation and the huge demand from tourists, who had been stuck for two years and eager to travel again. Shortly afterwards, the increase in fuel prices caused a new adjustment in tariffs, often making it economically difficult for many families to plan their holidays. This time they were waiting for us a simpler and more convenient summerfrom a cost point of view.
Instead, many airlines have already announced – or are about to – a new increase in the prices of their flights. The reason? This is the EU plan to implement the green transition, which is why carriers have far more important costs to face. From next year, in fact, all flights departing from an airport in the European Union will have to use a minimum quota of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which leads to an increase in expenses by airlines. Which, in many cases, will be passed on (at least partially) to the cost of airline tickets.
Airlines raising fares
The first airline to announce a fare increase is Lufthansa: the German group (of which the brand new Lufthansa City Airlines line is part) intends to add a surcharge to tickets purchased starting from Wednesday 26 June 2024, for flights departing from 1 January 2025. The summer, at least as far as the German carrier is concerned, should therefore be “safe” from new increases, with the exception of those who want to buy a ticket now for next year’s holidays.
No particular details have yet been revealed regarding the amount of the surcharge. If not that should go from €1 to €72, and which should vary depending on the length of the route travelled. Numerous other airlines are expected to adjust their fares, with announcements similar to Lufthansa’s expected to follow soon. According to the Corriere della Sera, for example, also Air France and the carriers of the Iag group (including British Airways and Iberia) are evaluating increases to be applied to airline tickets.
The goal is to compensate for the price increases due to the obligation to use increasing shares of sustainable fuel: in 2025, airlines will have to fly with at least 2% SAF, a percentage that will increase in the coming years – up to 70% in 2050.
Lufthansa, on the other hand, had already started its own green turn adopting Green Fares tariffs, which allow passengers to offset their flight-related CO2 emissions. According to data released by the company, since February 2023 more than one million travelers have purchased these tickets, offsetting a total of more than 77 thousand tons of carbon dioxide.
