Cheapest air ticket? Airlines will have a quota of up to R$799 – 12/18/2023 – Market

The three main airlines operating in Brazil announced this Monday (18) a plan to universalize air transport, the aim of which was to announce cheaper prices for air tickets.

The announcement involves the availability of 25 million tickets with maximum prices ranging from R$699 to R$779, depending on the airline. The prices, however, are close to the average value already charged.

Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency) announced last week that plane tickets on domestic flights reached an average price of R$747.66 in September — a record in the agency’s historical series, which began in 2010.

During the year, the average fare calculated by the regulatory agency is R$644.5, a value lower than the ceiling stipulated by the two airlines.

The plan was presented by the presidents of the companies Azul, Gol and Latam, alongside the Minister of Ports and Airports, Sílvio Costa Filho.

Azul announced that it will provide, in 2024, 10 million seats at prices of up to R$799 per way. Prices will only apply to tickets purchased 14 days in advance.

The measures include the creation of a new flexible fare for consumers who buy tickets at short notice, with the possibility of booking a seat and checking in free luggage.

According to Azul’s CEO, John Rogerson, the measures were defined as a “gesture of confidence” by airlines after minister Sílvio Costa Filho asked them to lower prices.

“We sat down with the minister, he said: ‘it’s not possible, the tickets are expensive’. We said: ‘wow, we have expensive tickets and we’re not making money. There’s something to solve here’.

Gol Linhas Aéreas will make 15 million tickets available for up to R$699 in 2024. Without detailing the values, the airline’s president, Celso Ferrer, also said that he will create promotions for tickets purchased at least 21 days in advance and another for tickets purchased the week of the flight.

Latam CEO, Jerome Cardier, did not set a ceiling for air tickets, but said that the company is committed to four actions for 2024.

These include intensifying advertising campaigns to show ways to get cheaper tickets; increase promotional campaigns for ticket purchases, with values ​​already charged this year for up to R$199; eliminate the expiration dates for promotional points if the consumer uses them to buy tickets from the company; and increase the offer of tickets by 10 thousand seats per day.

The three airlines reinforced that the increase in ticket prices in Brazil has been caused by the prices of aviation kerosene, high interest rates in the country and high judicialization.

According to the minister, around 80% of legal proceedings against airlines around the world occur in Brazil.

To reduce prices, the minister said the government is acting on three fronts. The first is in conversations with Petrobras and the Ministry of Mines and Energy to reduce the value of aviation kerosene.

The ministry also created a working group with other ministries to seek to reduce the price, with “a possible impact on tickets throughout 2024”.

The other two actions are to reduce the number of legal proceedings with companies, in discussions with the Judiciary leadership to seek a way to “provide more security against the flood of judicialization”, which consumes around R$1 billion from companies; and the construction of 120 new airports in Brazil over the next three years.

“In the Amazon, ten new airports; another 30 to 40 airports in the Northeast. And we hope that in January or February, alongside the TCU (Federal Audit Court), we can launch this program that dialogues with a greater number of airport investments in Brazil”, said the minister.