Flying on these holidays is 35% more expensive than last year

“I’ve never found such an expensive flight back home for Christmas. More than 300 euros one way,” she exclaims. sarah white, a woman from Oviedo who currently resides in Madrid and wants to spend the holidays with her family. “I’m finally going by bus,” she says. Miguel MinambresHe tells from Salamanca, who lives in Germany, that he is currently stuck in his country due to travel expenses: “We had to buy the ticket to Spain for Christmas long in advance and it cost 180 euros one way. A year ago it cost 250 round trips. It’s overrated,” he explains.

Family reunions, gifts, year-end wishes and raffles are getting closer and closer. However, those who have to shorten their getaways are not few. In fact, 42% of Spaniards say they will have to cancel their trip at this time of year, according to the Appinio research platform.

With the rise of inflation, the ticket prices applied by European airlines for international flights increased by 35% in the last year; and up to 20% on domestic flights, according to Eurostat and Capa-Centre for Aviation data collected by Eurocontrol. “Fuel is twice as expensive as last year and accounts for about 30% of the airline’s costs,” he says. javier gandaraPresident of the Airline Association.

Environmental taxes also affect the sector’s accounts. “As a result of the impact of Covid, there is more concern for sustainability. This includes renewing the aircraft fleet to be more efficient and an increase in research and development,” he states. Father SuauProfessor of economics and business and air transport specialist at UOC. These are costs that are passed on to the consumer little by little. In fact, airlines have already warned of the increase. Ryanair announced in September that it will increase prices by 25% by 2027. And many companies are already moving in that direction. The increases are stronger for domestic flights than for domestic flights. High demand routes are not the same as low demand routes. suau.

And the trend won’t stop next year. According to the Air Monitor 2023 report, flights between European cities may experience price increases of 6% for business travel and 5.5% for tourism in 2023.

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Add to this that several airlines changed their baggage policy last year, and packages are no longer included in the base price, and additional contracts are required. “This is because companies want to give passengers more options to pay only for baggage that really interests them. This also provides lower base fares and makes airlines more competitive,” he says. manual lopezPresident of Intermundial. Once the flights are purchased, the cost of hotel accommodation becomes another puzzle. According to a study by consulting firm Simon-Kucher & Partners, its price increased by an average of 10% at Christmas compared to the previous year. “Even though people have less money, flying is still within reach of customers and demand continues,” he concludes. gandara. He also adds that 96% of people who did this in 2019 had already traveled in November.

Last call

There are options for every taste and pocket. In any case, it will depend on how far in advance you book or supplementary services. In a search by the main comparators at the time of preparing this report, you can see the fireworks next to Big Ben and the London Eye, which bought a Barcelona-London flight with Ryanair from 29th to 2nd January for 42 euros round trip. The total cost can easily go up, though it should be noted that it does not include baggage charges and is the second most expensive city in Europe. Another different year-end could be in Times Square, and a Madrid-New York flight with Lufthansa from December 26 to January 8 can cost up to 814 euros. Surrounding yourself with crystal clear waters in Seychelles costs a minimum of 1,650 Euros – including two stops – round-trip from Valencia on Emirates airline. However, the overlap of expectations and economic reality becomes one of the year-end resolutions for many.