Dutch flying nearly as much as pre-Covid, despite 73% ticket price hike since then
Flying has become considerably more expensive since 2019, but that hasn’t stopped Netherlands residents from getting onto a plane. The price of transport by plane or helicopter increased by over 73 percent since the last full year before the pandemic. Despite that, the coronavirus hit to aviation is almost a thing of the past with flight movements and passengers nearing pre-pandemic levels, RTL Nieuws reports.
The price of airline tickets has risen almost three times as fast as for other products. According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), life has become 22.7 percent more expensive, on average, since 2019. In that same period, the price of flying rose by 73.3 percent.
The significantly higher prices have not yet resulted in a decrease in the number of flights or passengers. In 2019, there were 556,031 flights to and from the five Dutch airports. Last year, there were around 533,000 flights - a decrease of less than 6 percent. The number of passengers is also almost back to pre-pandemic levels. Last year, 76 million people traveled through a Dutch airport, 6 percent less than 2019’s 81.2 million travelers.
Aviation economist Rogier Lieshout isn’t too surprised that the pricey airline tickets haven’t discouraged people from flying. “The demand for tickets is so high that people are less sensitive to price increases. In the coronavirus years of 2020 and 2021, a lot of savings were made and wages have increased in recent years.” A study by the Knowledge Institute for Mobility Policy showed that 81 percent of last year’s air travel was for holidays, city trips, and visiting family and friends. “Holidays are one of the last things the Dutch cut back on,” Lieshout said.
Airline tickets will likely become even more expensive in the coming years. Schiphol is increasing its port fees for airlines by 41 percent this year. And the distance-dependent flight tax, in which you pay more tax the further you fly, will be introduced in 2027. From this year, airlines are also required to blend much more expensive sustainable fuel with their kerosene.
Based on previous studies, CE Delft researcher Arno Schroten expects that airlines will “probably pass on the vast majority” of these extra costs to their passengers. “The profit margins in the aviation sector are relatively limited.” So airlines often don’t have the reserves to absorb additional costs themselves, he told the broadcaster.
