Airlines must present a plan to reduce prices – 11/14/2023 – Market

The Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, stated this Tuesday (14) that airlines must present a plan to reduce the amounts charged for tickets within ten days.

He stated that the tariffs currently charged by companies make it difficult to democratize air transport. “These exorbitant increases in the sector have harmed the pockets of the Brazilian people and we will not allow workers to pay dearly to travel,” he said after meeting with companies in the sector.

The minister said that the government seeks to dialogue with all related agents, in addition to working in Congress to approve measures linked to the sector. “We are looking for alternatives and working to convince all agents about the importance of having cheaper fares in the country,” he said.

The ministry stated that the fares charged by companies are linked to the cost structure of the airline sector and listed a series of initiatives that could help in the reduction task — although without making clear what these measures would be.

Among the actions cited by the ministry that could generate a price reduction are the drop in the price of aviation fuel (QAv), responsible for 40% of the ticket price, the reduction in the excessive judicialization of consumer relations in this sector, the reduction (or not increase) taxes on civil aviation and stimulating competition and the entry of new airlines into the Brazilian market.

The statements were made on the eve of the deadline given by the minister himself for his ministry to present to the Civil House a remodeling of the Voa Brasil program, which should be launched in stages.

The expectation is that the first phase of the program, which aims to offer tickets for R$200, will be launched this year and will focus on retirees and pensioners from the INSS (National Institute of Social Security), as well as ProUni students (a government grants).

In an interview with Sheet in October, the minister stated that he was working on an “improvement” of the program.

“We are improving Voa Brasil so that, in fact, it can be a proposal that strengthens national aviation and so that the least favored have access,” he said at the time.

“To give you an idea, we have 100 million passengers a year, but only 15% of the Brazilian population’s CPFs fly by plane. The focus of formatting the program is to look at the social aspect”, he stated at the time.

At the same time, Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency) has also taken initiatives in the name of democratizing air transport and has recently intensified efforts to attract new international airlines to Brazil, whether through non-scheduled flights (so-called charter flights) or by regular flights (with pre-established frequencies).

The regulatory body launched a website in recent days to publicize the simplification of rules for attracting foreign airlines to Brazil. The project aims to encourage increased competition and increase the country’s connections with abroad.