FAS issued a warning to the co-owner of Vnukovo after the announcement of ticket prices

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of Russia issued a warning to the co-owner of Vnukovo Vitaly Vantsev after announcing a 40% increase in the cost of air tickets for international flights.

“Such statements can be perceived as an incentive to act to increase prices by business entities operating in the air ticket and air transportation market,” the regulator’s press service said in a statement.

Formerly Vantsev declaredthat the increase in prices for international flights this year could be up to 40%, and for domestic flights – 15-20%. According to him, this is due to the increased maintenance costs of airlines. He recalled that the cost of tickets is reflected in the increase in prices for spare parts.

After that, the Ministry of Transport reportedthat there are no grounds for a 40% increase in air ticket prices, and from the beginning of the year to May, the cost of tickets for domestic air transportation increased by 6.2% year-on-year. The ministry also noted that airlines are not interested in an unreasonable increase in ticket prices, as this could lead to a drop in demand.

Fedor Borisov, chief expert at the Institute for Transport Economics and Transport Policy at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, stated in an interview with Vedomosti that a statistical base of prices and mathematical modeling of their changes are needed to accurately forecast price increases. He noted that prices will grow, and he named the rise in the cost of maintaining the airworthiness of ships and a significant decrease in the volume of state support for the aviation industry in 2023 as the reasons for the growth.