You've probably seen it if you've booked a flight recently: the price of plane tickets departing from France continues to skyrocket, as further confirmed by the latest passenger air transport price index (IPTAP), unveiled on April 17, and carried out monthly by the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC).
To date, nothing indicates a change in this inflation of labels.
This is enough to confirm the end of €10 tickets mentioned last summer by the boss of Ryanair, Michael O'Leary.
On average, it costs 23.8% more to get you a flight in March 2023, compared to the same month in 2022. Fares rise more internationally (+22,
Read alsoFarewell to discounted plane tickets
However, there are disparities depending on the destination, with none showing a decrease, with the exception of North Africa (-6.5% in the wake of a certain normalization of traffic to Algeria).
In the long-haul segment (+19.8% on average), the increase was mainly driven by routes to the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, which exploded (42.3%) while ticket prices to North America are more contained in 1 year (+9.3%).
Read alsoLISTEN - Our podcast: how to upgrade on a plane?
On the medium-haul beam, it is the destinations of the European economic zone (the 27 Member States and Monaco, Andorra, etc.) and the United Kingdom which are particularly responsible for the increase (+38.4%), which is are more moderate towards the other countries of the Old Continent (+8.4%).
To and from overseas destinations, inflation at its highest
Flights departing from mainland France to Overseas France still posted spectacular increases in March 2023: + 39.9% compared to last year, on average, with West Indian destinations (Martinique, Guadeloupe, etc.) particularly affected, regardless of airlines and travel classes.
On departure from these overseas departments
,
the increase reached 36.2% with, again, a preponderant weight from Martinique and Guadeloupe.
Read alsoWhy the price of train tickets will (further) increase
Evolution of plane ticket prices in March 2023, compared to March 2022. Source: DGAC, April 2023
The trend is confirmed every month: flying today is generally much more expensive than before the Covid-19 epidemic.
Over the first three months of 2023, the cumulative increase reached 23.6%.
Several factors explain this phenomenon: the price of oil (fuel representing 30% of the price of a ticket), the uneven recovery of business classes which penalizes the profitability of flights, and the lengthening of journey times for one to two hours from/to some Asian destinations due to Russia overflight ban.
Not to mention strong demand that continues to take the airline sector by surprise;
witness the mess that has affected certain European airports this summer due to a lack of staff.
Another explanation: customers still tend to anticipate less and book their tickets later and later.
However, very often, the closer the departure date approaches, the more the prices increase.
Read alsoFive tips for paying less for your plane ticket
Be flexible in your travel dates, favor mid-week departures, take off from a secondary airport... Several tips allow you to pay less for your flight and thus escape the general rise in prices.
If you live in Overseas France, you can benefit from assistance for territorial continuity (ACT) once every three years subject to means.
This is a reduction voucher of 270 to 440 € valid on a return plane ticket in economy class departing from Overseas France and destined for mainland France.
(1) Methodology: “The IPTAP DGAC is constructed on the basis of air fares recorded for more than 400 direct and indirect airlines (origin, destination, carrier), provided by more than sixty carriers. All the prices collected concern round trips from France (mainland or DOM) and include all applicable taxes, fees and surcharges”, details the website of the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
This article is regularly updated.
SEE ALSO
- Anti-inflation basket: "The battle will be on the price but also on the quality of the products", announces Olivia Grégoire