The obvious and the incredible: why Russians are forced to fly so expensive
The high cost of air travel is the main deterrent to outbound tourism in Russia. The price of tickets for planes of domestic carriers is 1.5-2 times higher than in the United States - and this is despite the striking difference in living standards. There are several reasons for this phenomenon, but the main one is the monopolization of the air transportation market and the extensive policy of domestic companies.
A striking indicator of the availability of air steamships is the value of the so-called aviation mobility coefficient, which reflects the average number of flights per year by one citizen. In countries where you can purchase airfareThis figure is much higher than at home. For example, every resident of the United States uses the services of air carriers at least 2 times a year, a European rises to the sky on average 1 time a year, and only every third Russian can afford air travel to the resort or just visit foreign friends. The statistics speak for themselves.
Why? plane-ticket Are they not as accessible as they would like? The answer lies in the structure of the ticket price, which is a third of the cost of aviation fuel, 10% of the salary of personnel and ship maintenance, a considerable share is also occupied by airport fees. Despite the requirements of the FAS on the regulatory choice of a tanker, most airports are served by one fuel and refueling complex, which, in fact, is a monopolist.
Russian airports, albeit from time to time, try to pull up the service and set of services to European colleagues, selling them. airfareWhile conducting seasonal promotions and introducing additional services, they can be called business units. When reducing ticket sales, airlines prefer to increase revenue by raising tariffs, rather than taking effective actions to increase passenger traffic.
As a result, the cost of a passenger seat per kilometer – the main economic indicator that determines the efficiency of transportation – domestic airlines average 20-25 kopecks, which is an order of magnitude higher than that of foreign carriers. At the same time, low-cost operators manage to reduce this ratio by 1.5-2 times, which affects the ticket price. Therefore, tourists who want to save on air travel, it is more profitable to use the services of precisely such companies that do not spray on excessive service, thereby providing greater savings for passengers.