all routes in the government’s sights – Corriere.it

With 25 flights a day, on average, in the first five months of this year the Rome-Catania route is confirmed as the busiest in Italy. But it also turns out, somewhat surprisingly, to be one of the routes where the price of air tickets has increased the most: by 76% compared to the same period in 2022. Between June and August the increase “slows down”, but at the moment it registers +52.3% compared to last summer. It is what emerges from the analysis that the Courier made on the links that came under the scrutiny of the price guarantor and who, after having summoned them, gave them ten days to provide their explanations.

The methodology

For his analysis the Courier has extracted thousands of data collected by specialized platforms that provide the average fares paid for each route – taxes included, net of additional services such as priority boarding, seat selection, hold baggage -, but also the price of flights one week, one month, three months and six months after departure. It is therefore not a “sample” collection, but of how much the carriers actually sold each seat, each day, on the routes examined. In addition to the “be careful” routes, those to Bari, Brindisi and Olbia were also studied.

The anomalies

On the instructions of the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso, the Guarantor for price surveillance, Benedetto Mineo, reported to the carriers (Ryanair, Wizz Air, easyJet, Aeroitalia, Ita Airways and Neos) various “anomalies on the prices” of the connections between Milan, Venice and Rome to Palermo, Catania, Cagliari. Anomalies also emerged in the investigation of Courier. The analysis shows that in the January-May period, flights between Milan (Linate, Malpensa, Bergamo airports) and Palermo became 45% more expensive than in the same period in 2022, those with Catania increased by 37% and those for Cagliari by almost 25%. More evident increases with Bari (+52%) and Brindisi (+47%), while for Olbia the expenditure is 38% higher.

The links

Passing on the Capitoline front, the fares of flights between Rome (Fiumicino, Ciampino) and Palermo – again in the first five months of this year – rose by 54% compared to the same period of 2022, from/to Catania by 76% and from/to Cagliari by 55%. Significant increases also on the other routes examined: +64% with Bari, +45% with Brindisi and +39% with Olbia. Venice is the one, among the three cities of the Italian peninsula in the lens of Mr. Prices, which records the highest average increases in prices. This is the case of Venice-Catania and Venice-Bari which are 73% more expensive than a year earlier. Double-digit increases also for connections between the lagoon city and Brindisi (+66%), Palermo (+64%), Olbia (+52%) and Cagliari (+50%).

The reactions

“The companies have full flights, you can’t find a seat, they travel at maximum revenue,” said a Sky Tg24Minister Adolfo Urso. “If they don’t provide us with convincing explanations and if prices don’t reduce soon, we will intervene.” The carriers defend themselves by speaking of a high demand, a supply not yet at pre-Covid levels, and a kerosene that was purchased last year when the price had almost doubled. However, those who work in carriers tell al Courier that from April-May, fuel purchased this year is used, when the price fell by 40-42% compared to a year ago. Mr. Prices will have to figure out just this: whether the airlines are speculating. And if so, how much.

The hypothesis

Insiders explain that it will be difficult for the price guarantor and the dicastery to be able to intervene on flight fares. One of the possible paths – which would require several weeks of “investigation” – could be that of a report from Mr. Prices to the Competition and Market Authority on an alleged “collusion” between the airlines which, through a “cartel” , they may have set the prices. But this type of accusation is very difficult to prove.

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