Price of plane tickets from France still rising due to high fuel costs
Tickets for international flights from mainland France rose by 6.1% in the year to March
The price of flights from France and overseas territories are continuing to rise due to increased costs of fuel due to the conflict in Ukraine
Song_about_summer / Shutterstock
The rising cost of plane tickets from France as a result of increased international fuel costs is threatening the recovery of the industry after Covid, civil aviation experts have warned.
In March, the price of international flights from mainland France rose on average by 6.1% compared to March 2021.
Prices rose most for flights from overseas territories, for which fares were up in a year by 13.5%, figures from la Direction General de la Aviation Civil (DGAC) show.
Domestic flights in general, though, only increased by 1%, compared to March 2021.
The near stable ticket prices within the domestic network "belie strong and opposing trends, from a drop in ticket prices on intra-metropolitan routes (-8.3%) and a strong rise on the Metropolitan-Overseas network (+13.5%)”, the civil aviation director said.
Rises are higher for long-haul flights (6.6% on flights departing from the mainland), while international medium-haul flights are seeing a more modest rise of 3.3%, said the DGAC.
“In the international long-haul network, the rise has mostly been carried by an increase in the price of tickets to north-east Asia,” it added.
“However, [in general] in the international (medium and long-haul) network, prices remain below those observed in 2019.”
Price increases continuing in 2022
Since the start of this year alone, prices for internal, overseas territory and international routes have risen by 6.2%.
Overseas departments saw a particularly high increase in the first quarter, with a rise of 14.3%. Prices for flights starting in the island of Réunion have been especially affected (up 30%).
It comes as airline industry experts predicted in March that the price of plane tickets could rise by as much as 20% eventually, if fuel costs continue to increase as predicted, due to the war in Ukraine.
Airline companies are under pressure to recoup costs to repay loans from the state, which helped keep them operational during the Covid crisis.
Related articles
Ukraine crisis will push up petrol prices in France by 10c a litre
Conflict in Ukraine: Petrol prices hit record highs in France
French airline passengers face 20% rise in fares due to fuel costs
