Air France increases flight prices again, by up to €50
For the second month in a row, rising kerosene prices increase flight ticket costs
Long-haul flights on Air France face an average of €50 round trip increase
2016 Angel DiBilio/Shutterstock.
The Middle East crisis has seen fuel and kerosene prices continue to rise, forcing airlines to further increase their prices.
In March Air France implemented an up to €50 increase on some round-trip tickets to offset rising costs.
With the price of kerosene some $1,900 per ton, compared to around $750 before the conflict. As a result, fuel now represents 45% of airlines’ operating costs, up from 25%, according to Pascal de Izaguirre, CEO of Corsair and president of the FNAM (French National Federation of Aviation).
Faced with such pressure, airlines are compelled to raise ticket prices once more or, in some cases, cancel flights in order to remain profitable.
“The increase in ticket prices remains far too small to offset the rise in costs,” said Mr de Izaguirre.
For this reason, and for the second consecutive month, Air France is introducing another price increase, reports Franceinfo. An additional €50 surcharge will be applied to long-haul round-trip tickets in both economy and premium economy classes in April. This brings the total increase over the past two months to an average of €100 on long-haul flights.
Short- and medium-haul tickets will not be spared either, with an average increase of €10. In addition, the airline’s low-cost subsidiary, Transavia, is also implementing these measures. Other international airlines have also begun implementing comparable fuel surcharges, reflecting a broader industry trend.
Note that these changes are not retroactive. Passengers who have already purchased their tickets cannot be charged additional fees.
The increases can apply only to future bookings Anaïs Escudié, founder of airline passenger rights company RetardVol, said to BFM Business as ticket conditions are fixed at the time of purchase, and airlines cannot legally modify the price afterward. If an airline attempts to do so, passengers have the right to refuse.
