Domestic travellers can expect to pay more for airfares in 2019 and if that doesn’t irk you, the fact that the airlines are spruiking it as a good thing should.
Last week, Virgin Australia’s first-half profits jumped to $73.8 million from just $4.4 million for the same period a year earlier. It hails rising fares as the reason for the bump.
Virgin’s domestic business fares increased by six per cent and its overseas flight fares rose by 3.4 per cent. Tiger, Virgin’s low-cost carrier, reported 14 per cent fare increases which cut its losses by 3.6 per cent to $8.3 million.
Average discount fares on the Melbourne-Sydney route jumped 6.4 per cent between 2016 and 2018. Sydney-Brisbane fares rose 14.1 per cent, Sydney-Perth 14.4 per cent and Melbourne-Gold Coast was up 23.1 per cent.
With the truce called over the capacity war between Virgin Australia and Qantas, travellers can expect fares to rise even more.
Yet despite the imminent price hikes, fares in Australia remain low.
“I remember when Richard Branson came out to launch Virgin Blue [in 1999] he said he wanted $100 fares between Melbourne and Sydney. You can still get that price 20 years later,” said executive chairman with the CAPA Centre for Aviation Peter Harbison.
Read more at www.thenewdaily.com.au
Have you noticed domestic fares rising? Or have you still been able to find fares that suit your budget?
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