You have probably noticed it if you have booked a flight recently: the price of air tickets from France continues to soar, as confirmed by the latest air passenger transport price index (IPTAP), unveiled on May 15 and covering the month of April 2023, and carried out monthly by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC). Enough to endorse the end of €10 tickets mentioned last summer by Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary.
To discover
- Podcast Elsewhere: Singapore's hidden surprises and treasures
On average, you have to pay 20.1% more to offer you a flight in March 2023, compared to the same month in 2022. Tariffs rose more internationally (+19.8% between April 2022 and April 2023) than on the domestic network (15.5%), with the notable exception of overseas France (see box).
" READ ALSO The prices of plane tickets explode but the companies are full for the summer
However, disparities exist according to destinations, without any being decreasing. In the long-haul segment (+23.4%), growth was mainly driven by routes to Asia Pacific (28.8%) and the Middle East (+28.6%), followed by Latin America and North America with +22.5% and +22.4% respectively. Conversely, the increase was much more moderate on flights to sub-Saharan Africa (+7.9%).
Read alsoLISTEN - Our podcast: how to be upgraded by plane?
The increase compared to the pre-covid period is more than 31%
On the medium-haul beam, it is the destinations of the European economic area (the 27 Member States as well as Switzerland and the United Kingdom) that particularly carry the increase (+26.2%). This is more moderate towards other European countries outside the EU (+23%) and even less so on the North Africa network (7.8%). "The increase in the medium-haul international network is contrary to previous months rather driven bytraditional companies," says the DGAC.
To and from overseas destinations, inflation at its highest
Flights from mainland France to overseas France still show spectacular increases in April 2023 (+24.1% compared to April 2022), although there has been a slowdown compared to previous months. This trend varies from department to department. It mainly affects Martinique (+31.4%) and Guadeloupe (+29.7%), minus French Guiana (+20.5%), Réunion (+20.3%) and Mayotte (+5.4%).
Read alsoWhy the price of train tickets will (again) increase
Evolution of air ticket prices in April 2023, compared to April 2022. DGAC
The trend is confirmed every month: flying today is overall much more expensive than before the Covid-19 epidemic. "From mainland France, prices increased by 31.1% on the domestic network and 32% on the international network compared to April 2019," details the DGAC.
Several factors explain this phenomenon. The price of oil (fuel representing a third of the price of a ticket) is often pushed forward by companies, although the price per barrel falls. The uneven recovery of business classes, which penalizes the profitability of flights, the abandonment of certain low-cost services and the extension of travel times from one to two hours to/from certain Asian destinations because of the ban on overflights of Russia are also invoked. Not to mention strong demand that continues to catch the aviation sector by surprise; This is evidenced by the mess that affected some European airports last 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 gets, the more prices increase.
Read alsoFive tips to pay your plane ticket cheaper
Being flexible in your travel dates, favoring mid-week departures, taking off from a secondary airport... Several tricks allow you to pay less for your flight and thus escape the general rise in prices. If you live overseas, you can benefit from territorial continuity aid (ACT) once every three years subject to means-testing. This is a voucher of 270 to 440 € valid on a return flight ticket in economy class from overseas to the metropolis.
(1) Methodology: "The IPTAP DGAC is built on the basis of air fares collected for more than 400 direct and indirect routes (origin, destination, carrier), operated by more than sixty carriers. All prices collected concern round trips from France (metropolitan France or DOM) and include all applicable taxes, fees and surcharges, "details the website of the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
This article is updated monthly.
SEE ALSO -Inflation: the weight of constrained spending reaches 38% of French income