Passengers booking tickets on Ukraine’s airlines can expect to pay up to 7-8 percent more for fares ahead of the New Year, and even higher prices next year
Passengers booking tickets on Ukraine’s airlines can expect to pay up to 78 percent more for fares ahead of the New Year,
and even higher prices next year, industry insiders say.
In recent weeks, two Ukrainian airlines, Aerosvit and Ukraine International Airlines (UIA), raised their prices, citing higher fuel costs. As of Nov. 27, flight prices on Aerosvit increased by 7-8 percent for domestic and international flights. UIA said it has managed to minimize price hikes, adding only $1-2 per ticket to offset higher fuel surcharges.
Aerosvit’s press service said that higher fares are also due to higher fuel prices. The price for jet fuel at Kyiv’s Boryspil International Airport has increased by 33 percent since October, and by 15-17 percent at foreign airports, the company said.
Krebo, the company that provides fuel for Aerosvit at Boryspil airport, declined to comment on the higher prices, as did its supplier Ukrtatnafta, a Ukrainian oil refinery.
A UIA source said that fuel prices have risen by approximately 30 percent since the end of last month. Luk-Avia Oil, a subsidiary of Russia’s Lukoil, and a Boryspil airline fuel supplier, was not available for comment.
UIA spokesperson Yevhenia Sastka said ticket prices would not change further this year, adding that fuel prices have been rising on world markets.
Representatives for two foreign airlines operating in Ukraine said their tariffs have not changed in recent months and declined to predict how their prices could change in the future.
Domestic carriers threatened to cancel some routes a year ago when their jet fuel suppliers sharply increased prices. A compromise agreement avoided such extreme measures, but ticket prices were raised in recent weeks following another sharp hike in fuel prices by domestic suppliers last month, airline company officials said.
Domestic airlines have complained that their suppliers have increased prices significantly more than rates offered at major airports in other countries.
