According to the airlines between 11 August to 10 September of this year, most prices rose in the Koltsovo airport (Ekaterinburg) – from 62%. In Krasnodar, for example, the growth rate was 48,4%, in St. Petersburg, Russia-18%. Aviators asked the Ministry of transport jointly with the Ministry of energy and FAS to initiate a check of the validity of sharp increase in the cost of jet fuel. The Ministry of transport will discuss the jump in prices with the Ministry of energy, FAS, airlines and suppliers next week, the Ministry said. In the FAS said that initiate verification of information about the growth of prices.
the Final cost of aviation kerosene in airports consist of the cost of kerosene and related services, in particular transport, storage, handling and services, airports or fuel-gas companies, said the FAS. According to authorities, on August 10, 2020, that is, the wholesale market price for jet fuel at 30% below the price recorded on the same date last year. In other words, airlines should not all difficulties in the provision of jet fuel at airports, noted the Agency. We need to curb abuses in this area, given that the cost of fuel directly affects the final cost of the tickets and availability of flights, added to the FAS.
Airlines are really experiencing serious difficulties. Passenger traffic at the peak of the pandemic has fallen by 90% and started to recover only in may of this year. At the same time, support the growth of passenger traffic including the lowest prices on tickets and this has been helped by lower prices for jet fuel. Since January, they fell quite significantly, and now being restored, and when compared with last year, the price growth did not happen, said the chief expert of the Institute for transport Economics and transport policy HSE Fyodor Borisov. In some cases, the price of jet fuel this year to be even lower than last year.
In fact, the increase in the price of jet fuel in August there is nothing extraordinary. In the second quarter of suppliers of aviation fuel suffered a loss, now they need to compensate for the loss, puts the head of analytical service of Agency “AviaPort” Oleg Panteleev. When demand reaches the peak, the suppliers of aviation fuel, as a rule, raise prices, he says. In addition, if you consider wholesale prices, but not those that are declared on the official websites of the suppliers, the cost of fuel will be lower, the expert notes.
the Proportion of jet fuel costs the airlines ranges from 20 to 30%, in some areas the costs of airlines due to the rising cost of fuel could rise by 10-15%. Those who have no financial cushion, you will have to pass these costs on to passengers. “But as the demand for transportation is not very big and international lines are very truncated mode, of paying passengers on all will not suffice. Airlines will be faced with a choice – to fly at a loss, but to get a steady cash flow, or to receive passengers and to reduce the fleet, says Panteleev. Most likely, in the end, the bankruptcy of a number of airlines, competition in the market will decrease and prices will rise to a level that will allow airlines to make ends meet, the expert concludes.
Without government support painless exit from the current situation is unlikely, adds Borisov. The government from its contingency Fund has already allocated 23.4 billion rubles for subsidies to the airlines this year. While Sony has distributed out of this amount, about 12 billion roubles. These means the airlines can send the payment of salaries to employees, payment of airport services, leasing. In addition, airlines were allowed to give passengers vouchers instead of a refund for tickets for cancelled flights. Also in late may, the government has allocated 10.9 billion rubles to support airports. However, until now mainly performs domestic flights, which until the pandemic was on the verge of profitability, airlines continue to accumulate debts. According to carriers, the amount of subsidy should increase.
