Flights within Europe: Flying almost a fifth more expensive than before Corona

Flights within Europe
Flying almost a fifth more expensive than before Corona

The demand for intra-European flights is increasing again. Because there is no competition after the pandemic-related slump, passengers pay almost 20 percent more for a ticket than before the corona crisis. Flights within Germany, on the other hand, are not in great demand.

Flying is noticeably more expensive than before the Corona crisis. Tickets for intra-European flights from Germany cost almost a fifth (19 percent) more than two years earlier in September, according to the Federal Association of the German Aviation Industry (BDL). The reason for this is the increasing demand and, in some cases, low competition, because the original capacities have not yet been reached. The prices for domestic German flights rose by 12.5 percent and for long-haul connections – i.e. intercontinental flights – by a good three percent. Overall, the plus amounts to almost ten percent.

The pandemic with global travel restrictions brought massive losses to the aviation and tourism industries. Companies like Lufthansa or TUI could only be saved from collapse with state aid. Lufthansa had received billions in aid from Germany and other countries. In the meantime, however, the airline has repaid state loans and silent partnership contributions of over 3.5 billion euros, thereby repaying all of the German financial aid. Lufthansa recently benefited from better prospects and the end of the travel ban to the USA.

The BDL stated that from November to January the number of seats at German airports was 66 percent of the pre-crisis level. This continues the trend from September and October. The demand for European flights is stronger, where the supply is 70 percent of the previous level. Domestic German traffic (48 percent), on the other hand, is developing weaker. The reasons for this are that people switch to the car, business travelers make video conferences and many trade fairs and congresses are still canceled.

In September, the airports and airlines were still missing a good half of the passengers compared to the time before the pandemic, according to the BDL. However, the association sees a slight recovery. Because in the first nine months as a whole, the industry was still missing almost three quarters of the passengers.

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