Airline industry blames rising costs for expensive airfares, is this true?

Expensive airfares look set to stay for the foreseeable future according to the airline industry.

The industry is trotting out the usual excuses that the recent spike in expensive ticket prices is attributed to a rise in operational costs, including surging fuel prices and other factors.

Nok Air CEO, Wutthiphum Jurangkool, cited a surge in prices for aviation supply chain items due to the pandemic, such as spare parts and aircraft insurance.

Wutthiphum also pointed to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war causing a spike in jet fuel prices, which typically accounts for around 30% of overall operations.

Other major expenses include longer aircraft leasing contracts of three to four years. While older fleets may have lower leasing rates, they require higher maintenance costs, which contributes to the overall increase in operational expenses,…