Driven first by the global recovery and then by the Russian attack on Ukraine, the price of oil is at a high level.
This Monday, March 21, it was selling for around 114 dollars.
The same is necessarily true for aviation fuel, the price of which has increased by 108.7% over the past year, according to data from the International Air Transport Association, to settle at 140 dollars a barrel.
An increase which is already having an impact on the price of certain plane tickets.
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“We have increased the price of tickets since March 17, 2022, on long-haul flights, in particular as a result of the increase in fuel prices
”, indicates a spokesperson for Air France-KLM.
This “amount varies according to the destination and the travel offer
”
.
Fuel is indeed a significant part of the price of a plane ticket.
“
35% for a ticket from a low-cost airline and around 18% for a traditional company.
This difference is caused by a large amount of higher expenses on the side of traditional companies such as marketing costs, after-sales service or even food on board which are also integrated into the price of the ticket.
“, explains Xavier Tytelman, specialist in aeronautics within the consulting firm Starburst.
Fuel, the main cost item
The purchase of fuel therefore remains more than ever the leading cost item for airlines.
Consequently, Xavier Tytelman is counting on an increase in ticket prices, in medium-haul and long-haul, of around 5%, but mainly on the side of traditional and non-low-cost companies.
But the low-cost airlines came out of the crisis more quickly, because they have leisure customers who returned more quickly.
They therefore have more leeway to relaunch a price war on air tickets, despite the rise in fuel prices.
"
In this logic, companies will even be ready not to charge consumers the full cost of fuel on certain tickets
," says Xavier Tytelman.
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In addition, traditional companies and more and more "
low-cost
" companies use a so-called "
hedging
" system for the price of fuel: they commit in advance to buying a quantity of fuel at a certain price.
“
These companies have, for example, bought in 2021 and at the price of the 2021 price the fuel they currently use.
They are therefore increasing prices today not to finance their current fuel but for the one they will use next year
, ”explains Xavier Tytelman, aeronautics specialist.
A strategy effectively confirmed by Air France-KLM: “
for the first quarter of 2022, we have already purchased 72% of our necessary fuel consumption, and for the second quarter, we are at 63% coverage.
This is gradually increasing over the year, which means that we only have 28% of our fuel needs that are not covered
,” explained his spokesperson.
