In March of this year, the average price of air tickets in Brazil reached the highest value since December 2012. Data collected by the CNN show that, in the third month of 2022, the average cost of the air ticket reached R$ 648.29, being surpassed only by the price registered almost ten years ago, of R$ 676.37.
According to data from the Brazilian Association of Airlines (Abear), more than half of the costs of the airline sector are in dollars and aviation fuel alone represents about 30% of these expenses, factors that may explain the increase in ticket prices.
In the current economic scenario, the dollar was registered above R$5 throughout 2021 and the lowest average monthly value this year was R$4.76 in April. Aviation kerosene (QAV) hit a record average price per liter at the end of May 2022, reaching a cost of R$ 5.06 per liter, accumulating a rise of 46.6% this year alone.
At the end of 2012, the dollar for the month was quoted at R$ 2.07, the highest value for that year. And in the last three months of 2012, the price of a liter of QAV reached R$ 1.91, the highest price of that year.
The economist and professor at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV), Alberto Ajzental, assesses that three main factors act in the rise of these prices: the conflict in Ukraine, the high interest rates in the United States and the economic scenario registered with the pandemic.
“The war in Ukraine took Russia out of the global oil market, which greatly increased the price of this commodity. And this scenario should not change much until the end of this year. Another point is that with global inflation, the United States is operating with high interest rates, which will make the dollar more expensive. And finally, the domestic scenario, with the risk of a hole in the spending ceiling and fiscal deficit, all contribute to a rise in prices.”, ponders Ajzental.
Confirming the rise in air ticket prices, data from the Broad Consumer Price Index (IPCA), which is used to measure the country’s inflation, show that in the April 2022 release, the item ‘airfares’ recorded an increase of 9.48% in price, compared to March of the same year.
This Tuesday (7), Anac released data on the increase in prices of aviation fuel and air tickets, which, according to the Agency, was 21% higher in the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period in 2019.
However, for Abear, despite this scenario of rising costs, the fact that the domestic airfare has increased less than the QAV and the dollar is a positive point.
According to the Association’s president, Eduardo Sanovicz, “anac’s data show the efficiency and effort of airlines, which always seek not to fully pass on the rise in costs to the consumer, in the midst of a scenario of skyrocketing Cost Brasil and high inflation.”
Source: CNN Brasil
