South Africans can look forward to lower flight prices this summer, according to FlySafair’s Chief Marketing Officer Kirby Gordon.
The drop in costs is attributed to an increase in seating availability, as the value of tickets is calculated according to demand.
Summer travels
Gordon explained during a recent roundtable discussion that the South African airline market is beginning to normalize to pre-Covid levels, resulting in additional flights becoming available.
This is because several local airlines have been purchasing new aircraft to add to their fleets after the recent collapse of Comair that created a “land grab” within the domestic market, according to a MyBroadband report.
The result is an exponential increase in open seats in the air, however, the expansion period is anticipated to slow down in the near future now that the additional aircraft have largely been bought up.
Another reason why flight prices are expected to be lower this year than in the previous holiday season is because of the high levels of inflation and interest rates in South Africa, which is likely to curb spending this December and reduce the demand for flights, said Gordon.
Cost of operating
Several airline brands, including British Airways, Kulula, and South African Airways subsidiary Mango, have ceased operations in South Africa. In spite of this, the number of companies operating in the local airspace remains the same owing to Lift’s inclusion into the market in 2020.
The US dollar-rand exchange rate therefore remains one of the largest determiners of an airline’s ability to keep flight prices low, because the cost of aircraft parts, maintenance, and fuel is all paid in dollars, said Gordon.
Fuel accounts for approximately half the price of every flight, which means the constantly fluctuating oil rates and worsening rand value can significantly impact operations.
Maintenance costs have also climbed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic as local technicians and workshops have become harder to source, thus causing airlines like FlySafair to look overseas for solutions that all come at a greater price.
Loading ...
