Russian airlines were forced to cut ticket prices in 2021 due to strong competition in the domestic market, excess capacity and slowly recovering demand. Representatives of the industry told Izvestia about this.
The cost of air tickets for direct flights of Aeroflot and Rossiya airlines on domestic routes for 11 months of 2021 decreased by about 11% compared to the same period in 2019, the press service of the company told Izvestia. They added that Aeroflot’s tariffs did not change on international routes in 2021, but since they are denominated in euros, the price depends on the exchange rate difference and could be adjusted.
The average tariff for S7 Airlines for 11 months of 2021 was 7% lower than in the pre-pandemic period (January – November 2019), the press secretary of S7 Group Tamara Nikiforova told Izvestia. According to her, the price tag on domestic lines decreased by 9%.
Although demand has not yet recovered enough, carriers in 2021 began to actively increase their carrying capacity, especially in the domestic market, S7 told Izvestia. The competition was maximum and strongly influenced the business economy, especially in the summer season, Tamara Nikiforova continued.
Ural Airlines’ prices for air tickets have practically not increased compared to 2019 and 2020. As Vera Gasnikova, press secretary of the company, told Izvestia, the airline cannot increase the cost of tickets, since the capacity on the market exceeds demand, especially outside peak seasons, and carriers are fighting among themselves for a passenger only by price. This is also associated with frequent sales (once or twice a month), she added.
Smartavia has cut fares on its regular routes by 25-35% over the year compared to 2019, the airline’s press service said.
Read more in the exclusive material from Izvestia:
Departure prices: airlines may opt out of tariff hikes in 2022
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
