The Ministry of Transport estimated the increase in the cost of air tickets in Russia at 6%

Prices for air travel to domestic destinations in January – May 2023 increased by an average of 6.2%, or 420 rubles. for a ticket, the Ministry of Transport said on July 13. In its calculations, the agency refers to data from the Federal Antimonopoly Service. The representative of the ministry notes that there are no abnormally high jumps in prices for air transportation on domestic routes this summer season.

The statement of the Ministry of Transport was made after the appearance in the publication RBC interview with Vitaly Vantsev, co-owner of Vnukovo airport and Azimuth airline. On July 13, the businessman predicted an increase in air ticket prices for the year by 15-20% on domestic flights and 40% on international routes. The main reason, he said, is the increase in airline maintenance costs for aircraft following the imposition of Western sanctions in 2022.

“Russian airlines are increasing transportation within the country, using high-capacity aircraft that were previously used on international routes for flights within Russia. There is a situation in the transportation market in which there are no restrictions on carrying capacities. The airlines themselves are not interested in setting high tariffs that limit demand. Competition for a passenger does not allow carriers to raise tariffs, ”the Ministry of Transport quotes the words of Deputy Minister Igor Chalik, who oversees air transportation.

According to the ministry, the country’s largest air carrier “Aeroflot» since the beginning of the year, it has put up 14% more carrying capacity on domestic routes than a year ago. At the same time, the airline’s commercial load increased to a record 88%, “which confirms the high demand for transportation and an acceptable price level,” the ministry said in a statement.

The volume of support for the aviation industry from the federal budget in 2023 amounted to 57 billion rubles, of which 25 billion rubles. – expenses for subsidizing interregional transportation, transportation of socially unprotected groups of citizens and the population of the Far East and subsidizing the Far Eastern airline Avrora. But in 2022, the total amount of state support for the industry was three times more – 172 billion rubles.

A representative of the Ministry of Transport said that “previously published information in the press about a possible increase in prices for flights up to 40% has no basis.” In December 2022, Aeroflot CEO Sergei Aleksandrovsky predicted an increase in air ticket prices during 2023 at the inflation rate. According to Rosstat, annual inflation in Russia as of June was 3.25%.

At the same time, Rosstat recorded an increase in the average price for a flight in an economy class cabin per 1,000 km in May 2023 by 28% year-on-year to 6,972 rubles. The dynamics of the indicator has been growing since the beginning of this year – already in January such a flight was 13% more expensive compared to January last year (5287 rubles).

In July 2023, the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Igor Krasnov instructed to monitor the prices of air tickets and railway tickets and their availability in order to ensure the safety of tourism, protect the rights and legitimate interests of tourists both within the country and abroad.

On July 13, the FAS announced in its Telegram channel that, together with the Prosecutor General’s Office, it was checking the formation of ticket prices by airlines, as well as the establishment and application of tariffs and fees for servicing aircraft at airports. Checks are being carried out in Moscow, Khabarovsk, Krasnoyarsk, Perm, Primorsky and Trans-Baikal Territories, Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Orenburg and Vologda regions, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Tatarstan, Komi Republic and Mordovia.

Fedor Borisov, chief expert at the Institute for Transport Economics and Transport Policy at the Higher School of Economics, says that for an accurate forecast of price increases, a statistical base of prices and mathematical modeling of their changes are needed. “One thing is for sure – prices will rise,” the expert notes.

According to him, the main reasons for the growth are the increase 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. In the future, these factors will be supplemented by the risk of a shortage of airworthiness due to the gradual retirement of the fleet of foreign aircraft and the inability to immediately replace them with Russian ships Borisov added.