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When ridiculously high airfares will FINALLY end, as travel in Australia returns to normal amid a dire warning for airlines
- The ACCC closely monitors the cost of domestic tariffs
- The cost of international travel will also drop soon
- Airlines are still adjusting to the post-Covid pandemic world
The skyrocketing cost of domestic flights in Australia should return to 2019 levels by July this year, according to the nation’s consumer watchdog, and the cost of traveling abroad is also set to fall.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chairwoman Gina Cass-Gotlieb said domestic airfares were one service they would keep a close eye on as inflation and rising costs put pressure on budgets. relatives.
The Covid-19 pandemic grounded most flights in 2020, but when travel resumed, ticket prices soared well above their usual level as airlines struggled to get back on track.
Ms. Cass-Gotlieb said that as airlines add more domestic flights to their schedules and refine their processes to avoid delays and cancellations, the cost of airfares should start to normalize.
The high cost of flights in Australia is expected to return to 2019 levels in July this year (file image)
“We expect to see (prices come down) by mid-year, with a return to more normal levels of capacity,” Cass-Gotlieb said. the heralding sun.
She said pent-up travel demand was much stronger than airlines had anticipated and they failed to retain capacity to meet it.
“We are particularly interested in seeing capacity continue to increase so that we can meet the interest of Australians to fly.”
If passenger capacity does not increase in the first half of this year, Ms Cass-Gotlieb said the ACCC would consider such anti-competitive behavior “very seriously”.
The addition of a third airline, Bonza (staff pictured) to compete with Virgin and Qantas on 19 routes, should also lower prices.
New budget airline Bonza will fly a total of 17 routes, including 13 from its base on the Sunshine Coast (pictured)
He said the addition of a third airline, Bonza, to compete with Virgin and Qantas on 19 routes, would also lower prices.
The good news for those looking to travel abroad is that international prices should start coming down soon as well.
During Christmas, some cheap round-trip airfares from Australia to London cost as much as $6,000, putting the destination out of reach for most people.
But starting in March next year, the same route will be available for less than $2,000 on airlines like Qantas, Emirates, Etihad and Cathay Pacific.
At Christmas, some cheap airfares from Australia to London cost as much as $6,000, putting it out of reach for most people. Pictured: Sydney airport check-in queue
If you’re prepared to make long layovers and arrive in London a day and a half after your departure, you can purchase a 35-hour voyage with Virgin Atlantic, via Los Angeles, for $1,365.
China’s reopening will also lower fares as larger airlines lower their prices to compete with Chinese carriers operating between Australia and Europe.
Qantas has hired more than 1,500 new employees between April and September last year, which will help get operations back to normal in the coming months.
The carrier also includes more options. In December, Qantas added new routes from Brisbane to Tokyo, Melbourne to Dallas Fort Worth in Texas and Sydney to the Korean capital Seoul.
Jetstar had also announced that it will start direct flights between Sydney and Rarotonga in the Cook Islands from June.