A good air ticket for the holiday – Kommersant FM

Air tickets across Russia fell in price during the holidays due to the intervention of the Federal Antimonopoly Service. According to the Federal Antimonopoly Service, the drop ranged from 7% to 39%. We are talking about economy class in the direction of the south of Russia, the regions of the North Caucasus and to the largest cities of the country. Prices went down allegedly after the agency analyzed the situation and warned carriers “about the need to review them during a period of high demand.”

Aviasales has confirmed a price reduction on some Kommersant FM routes. Thus, the average cost of air tickets from Moscow to Sochi and back in December was almost 10 thousand rubles. Now the price has dropped to about 7 thousand rubles. A similar situation is observed in relation to other southern routes, says Alexander Mishin, managing director of the Biletix service:

“The south of Russia is one of the most popular destinations for celebrating the New Year. But at the moment only Sochi airport is operating. Two weeks ago, a one-way flight on New Year’s dates cost around 20 thousand rubles. Now these same tickets can be bought from 9 thousand rubles. For some operators, the cost has fallen even by more than 50%.

The cost of flights on December 30-31 has also decreased noticeably, but not so seriously. You can buy one-way tickets for around 12-14 thousand rubles. Accordingly, prices for return dates are approximately the same. The massive flow of tourists begins to move from January 6 to January 9. The story with Mineralnye Vody is about the same as with Sochi. Tickets have fallen in price by 25-30%.

Are there any destinations that have increased significantly in price this year ahead of the holidays? There is no explosive growth, but this is an annual trend – the closer the holidays, the more expensive the tickets. In December, the most popular destinations are approximately two to three times more expensive than usual.”

However, experts interviewed by Kommersant FM doubt that it was the actions of the FAS that influenced the reduction in the cost of air tickets during the holidays. Most Russians plan such trips in advance and now carriers are selling off their leftovers, notes Dmitry Gorin, vice-president of the Russian Union of Travel Industry:

“The principle of dynamic pricing applies in aviation. Everyone buys tickets for New Year’s holidays in advance, although the average booking depth is still very low. Purchases are most often made from 10 days until the day of departure. Taking into account the rising cost of aviation fuel, airlines raise prices, usually at the rate of inflation. But free market relations are very difficult to regulate; after all, prices are dictated by the market and demand.

In 2023, a larger volume of transportation was offered compared to last year. Despite the fact that 11 airports are still closed, demand is showing good dynamics. There are price cuts in a number of areas. This is often due to additional capacity that comes onto the market.”

According to Aviasales, in December the average cost of tickets in economy class on the Moscow-St. Petersburg route was approximately 7 thousand rubles. Now the price has dropped, and on December 31 you can fly there for about 2.2 thousand rubles.

St. Petersburg is traditionally one of the most popular New Year’s destinations. And such cheap air tickets are a rarity in recent years, emphasizes Aleksan Mkrtchyan, vice-president of the Alliance of Travel Agencies:

“Whether the FAS intervenes or not, no one makes discounts during this period – neither hotels, nor airlines. High season is the time to earn money. And during the low season, all airlines have had big sales for many years in a row. At the same time, we see a noticeable increase in air ticket prices. Let me give you an example: the most popular route in the country is Moscow—St. Petersburg. More than 50 flights per day depart from various capital airports to Pulkovo.

If before the pandemic you could buy an air ticket on sale for 1.5 thousand rubles, now it’s for 2.5-2.7 thousand rubles. Flights to destinations where it is impossible or take a long time to get to by train have risen the most. There the growth could be 30%. On the Moscow-St. Petersburg route there is a slight increase in price – 15-20%. Due to the huge competition with Sapsan, no one raises prices on this route.”

The busiest day at Moscow airports will be December 30. According to Aviasales, on this day passenger traffic will increase by 70% compared to other days of the month.

The majority of flights, almost half, are planned from Sheremetyevo. The second busiest airport on this day is Vnukovo. On December 30, Muscovites most often fly to St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kaliningrad, Mineralnye Vody and Yerevan.

Yana Zagorovskaya