The price tripled in one day, and low-cost air tickets became history?Response from the Civil Aviation Administration: no price increase request
As the Spring Festival travel season draws to a close, air ticket prices have once once more attracted the attention of the market.
On February 7, it was reported that seven state-owned airline companies had recently received requests to stop low-price offerings in order to reduce losses, and the regulatory authorities would check the coupons and the TravelSky system. The three major airlines first suspended the ultra-low price policy on February 3, and adjusted their cabins according to the guidance in the early morning of February 6.
An employee at the headquarters of a state-owned aviation company told the Times Weekly reporter: “I also read related news from the Internet, but we have not received the request yet.” Another state-owned airline company insider told the Times Weekly reporter: “In early February, we There has been a meeting on the price adjustment, but it is not sure whether it is a request from the regulator.”
In the evening of the same day, the relevant person in charge of the Civil Aviation Administration said in an interview with the media: “The Civil Aviation Administration has not put forward relevant requirements on airlines, and you can contact relevant departments for specific details.”
Recent Air Ticket Price Rise: Capacity Adjustment and Business Demand
With the optimization of epidemic prevention and control measures, the recovery of the tourism market has driven a significant increase in civil aviation passenger traffic. Fei Changzhun data shows that in the 30 days before the Spring Festival travel in 2023 (January 7 to February 5), the average daily passenger flight volume of domestic routes is 11,400, and the actual number of domestic passenger flights is 342,500. Compared with the 2022 Spring Festival travel It has increased by 17% over the same period, and has returned to more than 90% of the level of the same period in the 2019 Spring Festival travel season.
Strong demand has driven up air ticket prices. Data from the Qunar platform shows that during the Spring Festival travel season in 2023, the overall ticket price will increase by 20 to 30% compared with 2022. Among them, the average ticket price of economy class was 732 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25.1%.
As the Spring Festival travel season draws to a close, air ticket prices have fluctuated due to factors such as airline capacity adjustments and business travel pick-up. Recently, some netizens reported that the price of air tickets has risen sharply—compared with the query a few days ago, the price of the same flight ticket has tripled. According to previous online information, seven state-owned airlines will stop offering low-price tickets, and require some routes to sell air tickets at a price of more than 40% off the regular price.
A reporter from Die Zeit found that air ticket prices have indeed shown an upward trend recently. According to data from the Feichangzhun App, domestic air ticket prices dropped steadily from February 1st to 5th, and the average domestic economy class ticket price was around 750 yuan, a 13% drop from the previous week. The average domestic economy class fare (excluding tax) is regarding 850 yuan. According to flight steward data, from February 6th to 10:00 on February 8th, the average domestic economy class ticket price showed an upward trend.
Rumors of price increases have also spread to other industries related to civil aviation. A person in charge of a travel agency said in an interview with the media that he had heard regarding price hikes from several airlines last week: “For the planned group that applied for a good price before, the price of many routes has increased, and they all ask to cancel and reapply. .”
The recovery of international routes: air tickets in Southeast Asia are less than 1,000 yuan
Compared with the volatility of air ticket prices on domestic routes, the price of air tickets on international routes has dropped even more. The air ticket prices of some popular destinations such as Singapore and Phuket were even lower than 1,000 yuan at one time.
Data from the Ctrip platform shows that from February to March, almost all air tickets from Guangzhou to Manila were less than 1,000 yuan; on February 21, the lowest air ticket from Guangzhou to Manila was only 627 yuan; on February 19, the air ticket price from Shanghai to Phuket The lowest is 869 yuan; on February 24, the lowest air ticket price from Guangzhou to Singapore is only 629 yuan.
Source: Qunar App
The sharp drop in air ticket prices for international routes is partly due to the boom in outbound travel during the Spring Festival. According to Ctrip’s previous data, in February, the price of a direct flight from Shanghai to Phuket was 1,600 yuan, and that of a direct flight from Nanjing to Phuket was 2,000 yuan. According to the same journey travel data, from January 20 to February 5, the consultation volume of outbound and group travel products increased by 358% month-on-month, and the volume of visa consultation volume increased by 172% month-on-month.
On the other hand, airlines are also increasing investment in capacity on international routes. According to the news released by China Eastern Airlines (600115.SH), as of February 6, Eastern Airlines and its subsidiaries have implemented a total of 52 international and regional passenger routes, with 302 flights per week, including Shanghai-New York, Shanghai-Toronto, Shanghai- Paris and other intercontinental routes. It is expected that by February 28, China Eastern Airlines’ international and regional flights will resume to 60, reaching 410 flights per week. The newly resumed routes and flights are mainly concentrated in Southeast Asia and other destinations.