Airfares coming in for a soft landing
AIRFARES have fallen as much as 23 per cent since late last year but travellers are still paying much more than they did pre-Covid, particularly on international routes.
Webjet data showed the average booking value for domestic flights fell 23.3 per cent in February compared to November 2022, and international fares cooled by 5.1 per cent.
Trans-Tasman fares were 20.6 per cent more affordable last month than late last year when pent-up travel demand peaked.
A snapshot of airfares on popular routes compared to the same time in 2022 and 2019 told a different story however, with prices up as much as 82 per cent.
In February, the average return fares on Webjet for Sydney-London were $3321, compared to $2985 in 2022 and $2470 pre-Covid.
Brisbane-Bali was also much more expensive, with return economy fares at $1030 compared to $700 in February 2022 and $650 in 2019.
The fares were across all airlines featured on Webjet and echoed a warning from Qantas recently that prices would remain significantly above pre-pandemic levels for some time.
On Friday, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce reiterated those sentiments, saying airfares had to be higher because of the price of fuel and the pace at which international capacity was being restored.
“Fuel is 65 per cent higher for us than it was in 2019 so airfares to cover that will be 10 to 20 per cent higher,” Mr Joyce said.
“International capacity is going to take longer to get back because it’s a slow process to return international aircraft to service. A380s need about 100 days of maintenance and every maintenance facility in the world is chockablock.
“We’ve got seven A380s back in service but it’s going to take a couple of years to get the other three back.”
November data compiled by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics showed the number of international airline seats on flights to and from Australia were 36 per cent below 2019 levels.
Seat utilisation remained at record highs however, with an average of 85.5 per cent of seats on every flight filled.
Australian Federation of Travel Agents chief executive Dean Long said they were starting to see airfares come off the boil, particularly on domestic and some international routes. He said the exception was fares to Europe in the northern summer, which remained sky high due to the demand. “There is just not enough capacity on those routes,” Mr Long said.
Elsewhere there was downward pressure on prices as travellers’ willingness to fork out large sums of money to fly “hit a cap”.