Airfare prices took off in Brazil. In May, the average fare for domestic flights reached R$ 682.60, an increase of 48.5% compared to the same month last year (R$ 459.79).
The most recent price is also the highest in real terms –adjusted for inflation– since December 2012 (R$686.76), according to data from Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency).
In the view of analysts and representatives of the tourism sector, inflation in the segment is currently testing the ability of Brazilians to plan travel.
According to them, organizing and searching for tickets well in advance are still the best options to try to find tickets that weigh less on your pocket.
“The most expensive ticket undoubtedly impacts travel, despite the fact that the tourism sector has shown very rapid growth [após a derrubada de restrições na pandemia]”, says Roberto Nedelciu, president of Braztoa (Brazilian Association of Tour Operators).
“When the customer calls and sees the prices of tickets in the short term, for the following month, for example, sometimes it is impossible. There are occasions when he changes the destination, chooses a closer one. But we have insisted that the trip be scheduled in advance”, he adds.
According to Nedelciu, the suggested planning deadlines are at least 40 to 60 days for domestic travel and six months for going abroad.
“The main point to save is time. The greater the advance, the more opportunities a person has to monitor ticket prices and make the purchase”, says Adriano Severo, investment analyst and financial educator at Severo Capital.
Another tip, he says, is to compare prices on websites that sell tickets and at the addresses of the airlines themselves. “It is common to find different prices”, reports Severo.
Fuel and demand put pressure on travel prices
One of the factors that pushed tariffs up was the high price of jet fuel, QAV, analysts point out.
In the final stretch of December, the price of a liter was R$ 3.71, according to data gathered by Anac. In mid-June, it rose to R$5.63, up 51.8%. The exchange rate above R$ 5 contributes to the advance of the fuel.
“There is cost pressure on airlines, especially with the rise in aviation kerosene”, points out economist Fabio Bentes, from CNC (National Confederation of Commerce in Goods, Services and Tourism).
According to him, the resumption of tourist activities after the fall in the pandemic also helps to explain the rise in tickets in recent months.
In May, the number of paid passengers on domestic flights was 6.4 million, an increase of 75.7% compared to the same month in 2021 (3.6 million), according to Anac data.
The level, however, was still 10% below May 2019 (7.1 million), before the health crisis.
There are also signs of warming on international flights. In May of this year, the number of paid passengers was 1.2 million, points out Anac.
The amount is 519.6% higher than in the fifth month of 2021 (195.5 thousand). However, it is still 36.5% lower than May 2019 (1.9 million).
“We see inflation in several segments. Airfare is affected. A lot of people stopped traveling in the pandemic, and then there was an abrupt increase in demand”, points out Frederico Levy, vice president of marketing and events at Abav (Brazilian Association of Travel Agencies).
Lawyer Renato Raposo, 44, is one of the Brazilians who were waiting for the truce of Covid-19 to travel again.
At the end of the month, he leaves for Sri Lanka. The country, which is going through a political crisis, will be the 49th on the list of destinations visited by residents of Rio de Janeiro.
Raposo reports that, in recent months, he has noticed a “significant increase” in tickets. To face the higher prices, he tried to plan the trip at least 90 days in advance, which ensured more affordable values, according to him.
“I rarely make a sudden trip. I like to plan to have better maneuvering conditions and flight options”, says the lawyer.
Inflation goes to 122.4% in 12 months
In Brazil, air tickets for domestic flights accumulated inflation of 122.4% in the 12 months through June, according to the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).
The increase was the largest among the 377 sub-items that make up the IPCA (Broad Consumer Price Index).
In the initial phase of the pandemic, with demand on the ground, tickets came to record price drops. Deflation (low) until January 2021 was 28.86%, for example.
For Fabio Bentes, from CNC, once the effects of the reopening of the economy are over, the high level of ticket prices may slow the resumption of tourism during the second half of the year. Higher interest rates also play against the sector, he says.
“This can make the reaction of tourism slower in the second half of the year. Measures such as Auxílio Brasil, for example, do not reach those who consume this type of service”, he evaluates.
In May, the index of tourist activities calculated by the IBGE rose again and was only 0.1% below the pre-pandemic level (February 2020) in the country. The indicator reflects the performance of 22 services associated with tourism.
Frederico Levy, from Abav, still sees conditions of a warm up until December. “There are people leaving plans later, because, in the middle of the year, things get more expensive with the holidays.”
The Abear (Brazilian Association of Airlines) also indicates that ticket inflation is associated with issues such as cost pressure.
In this sense, the entity cites the increase in aviation kerosene, which historically represents around one third of airline costs.
“It is important to emphasize that the price of an air ticket is directly related to the costs of the companies, which in turn are impacted by external factors, such as the exchange rate of the dollar against the real, which indexes more than half of the sector’s costs, putting pressure on items such as aircraft fuel, aircraft maintenance and leasing”, he says.
Abear reports that buying tickets at least two months in advance has been the recommendation of its members for passengers to find “competitive prices”.
