Flight price in Brazil doubles compared to pre-pandemic; see comparisons

Airlines in Brazil are this year resuming the number of departures, destinations and passengers from the pre-pandemic period thanks to the opening of borders and pent-up demand. But with the dollar and fuel soaring, fares rose beyond inflation between 2019 and 2022, according to travel company data.

Considering nominal values ​​(that is, without discounting inflation), the increases observed are at least 50% between January and May of this year compared to the same period in 2019, before the pandemic.

The accumulated inflation for January 2019 and April 2022 (most recent data available) is 25.14%.

Although pricing in the sector fluctuates according to demand and seasonality, successive increases in the price of QAV (aviation fuel) are the main cause of the increase, according to the airlines. The product, they say, accounts for half the cost of a flight.

From January 1st to June 1st, aircraft fuel rose by 64.3%. Compared to 2019, the percentage exceeds 90% and still does not reflect the entire increase expected for 2022.

This Thursday (2), Petrobras announced another readjustment, above 11%, in important hubs, such as Guarulhos (SP), Duque de Caxias (RJ) and Betim (MG).

“It is unmanageable”, says Eduardo Sanovicz, president of Abear (Brazilian Association of Airlines). According to him, the price of QAV in Brazil is up to 40% higher than the global average.

Gol, Latam and Azul, the three largest airlines operating in Brazil today, claim that, with the continuous rise in fuel prices, an increase in ticket prices is inevitable.

Comparing the first five months of 2019 with those of 2022, some national routes have a nominal increase above 70%, such as Porto Alegre (74%) and São Paulo (132%), according to a survey carried out by Kayak at the request of the Sheet.

Among the ten most sought after international destinations by Brazilians, Portugal stands out. The average cost to go to Lisbon in the first five months of 2019 was R$2,750, the research indicates. This year, it reached R$ 4,626.

Check the average prices of the most popular destinations*

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*The search was made in the Kayak database looking for round-trip flights departing from all airports in Brazil to all airports in Brazil and abroad, taking into account the nominal values ​​of the tickets. Searches made between January 1 and May 31, 2019 and 2022 were considered, for travel between June 1 and December 31, 2019 and 2022. Prices and percentages are an average. They may vary over time.

Decolar’s search for Sheet also shows the escalation in the period. Traveling to Orlando, Florida, a year before the pandemic came out, on average, for R$2,273. In recent months, the ticket to Disney is around R$ 2,600.

For Rome, according to data analyzed in the travel company’s sales channels, the difference recorded is even greater. Departures from São Paulo to the capital of Italy went from R$2,522 to R$3,386.

Airlines claim that this rise in ticket prices and operating costs are delaying the process of resuming the sector, which has been walking close to pre-pandemic levels since the end of 2021.

Gol saw its net revenue more than double between the last quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year. In the first three months of 2022, the company transported almost 7 million passengers on more than 48,000 departures. Just over 76% of the volume achieved in the same period of 2019.

Azul ended the first quarter of this year with net revenue above pre-pandemic levels, according to the company after raising tariffs to offset rising fuel prices.

Confident, the company is preparing to reinforce the operation of its network in July, with extra flights and 13 new routes, between the Midwest, the interior of São Paulo and the South of the country with the Northeast.

Latam says it recovered 100% of its domestic offer of seats in Brazil last month, compared to May 2019, with an average of 532 flights per day to 50 national destinations, six more than before the pandemic.

On international routes, the company’s recovery reached 56% of its seat offer, with the reestablishment of flights to 18 destinations from the previous 26.

According to the most recent data from Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency), in the first two months of this year, 24 million passengers were transported. This number is close to the same period in 2019, when 19 million circulated through Brazilian airports.