For how long? Yes, that is the question. For how long will travellers be willing to pay sky-high fares to fly from one side of the Atlantic to the other? Or, simply, to go from London to Milan for a business meeting? Or from Rome to Catania to enjoy a day at the sea in Sicily?
Granted that the joys of the first low-cost fares (those at less than €10 on European routes) are and will remain a memory (Mr. O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, docet), the upward surge is practically the order of the day. From any departure point, to as many different final destinations you can think of. In Italy, of course. And on transatlantic routes too, where the capacity on offer in 2023 has increased more than ever.
According to data from Airports Council International Europe, global airfares in May were 36% higher than in 2019. So be it. The same organization reports that global air traffic will reach 92% of 2019 levels this year, with 8.4 billion passengers. Who are evidently still willing to pay high fares. Even when, faced with increased competition and seat supply, one would expect fares to fall. This is the case of the Milan Malpensa-New York route, where seven airlines are currently competing against the six of 2019, but ticket prices are 46% higher. And fare growth is also double-digit towards major European markets such as France and Spain, and even more so in the case of the UK.
IATA estimates that passenger traffic next year will be just above 2019 levels. The longed-for recovery from the pandemic has led to a veritable upward curve: being able to travel, and first and foremost to fly, ranks among people's must-dos in spite of rising fares, global economic uncertainty, and inflation. So again, how long will there be travellers willing to spend this kind of money? And what will airlines do to somehow anticipate a future turnaround?
Mariella Cattaneo
Journalist
