Factors Contributing to Expensive Flight Ticket Prices and Solutions: Minister of Transportation

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Minister of Communications (Minister of Transportation) Budi Karya Sumadi said there were a number of factors that caused the price flight ticket still expensive at the moment.

Among other factors, the Minister of Transportation revealed that the increase in the price of aviation fuel was the biggest contributing factor plane ticket prices still high.

This is because 40 percent of flight operational costs come from purchasing aviation fuel, so the current increase in aviation fuel prices affects the total cost of flight operations.

Also read: Minister of Transportation Lobbies Sri Mulyani and Airlangga to Exempt Import Tax on Aircraft Parts

As is known, aviation fuel prices currently tend to rise due to global socio-political conditions such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war.

“Avtur is the biggest thing because avtur is 40 percent of that cost. “So if the price of Pertamina’s aviation fuel can be reduced to the same price as Singapore, this will be very helpful,” said the Minister of Transportation during the Kompas100 CEO Forum, quoted from Kompas Daily YouTube, Thursday (2/11/2023).

Apart from that, the aviation industry, which has not yet fully recovered after the Covid-19 pandemic, also affects plane ticket prices.

Also read: Minister of Transportation Considers Lowering Upper Limit Rates for Airplane Tickets in Certain Areas

The Minister of Transportation said that Indonesian airlines are currently lacking a fleet of aircraft to operate to carry passengers, from initially 650 aircraft, now only 400 aircraft are in operation.

Even though the number of passengers has increased after the pandemic, due to the lack of aircraft availability, the industry cannot serve needs optimally.

The condition of limited aircraft operating is not only experienced by the domestic aviation industry but also internationally.

Also read: Minister of Transportation’s Message to CASN Officers: Bring Positive Change

Currently, the availability of aircraft spare parts is limited due to the supply chain being disrupted by global socio-political conditions.

Meanwhile, airlines need these spare parts to repair planes that have not been used during the pandemic, so there are many planes that require longer repair times and cannot be operated immediately.

“That’s what happens when we go to one place and another we have difficulty flying because aircraft like ATR in remote areas are drastically reduced because there are no spare parts,” he said.

Also read: Minister of Transportation Reveals Reasons Why Flights from Bandung Were Diverted to Kertajati

Therefore, the Minister of Transportation invited the Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati to discuss solutions to the problems that burden flight operational costs.

The reason is, if operational costs can be reduced, then airlines will have the costs to increase the fleet of aircraft that can be operated, either by buying or renting.

“We can do this to reduce it together. If the cost of aviation decreases, then their purchasing power to buy or lease planes will improve,” he said.

Also read: Jakarta-Surabaya Fast Train, Minister of Transportation: Kertajati Airport is a stopping option

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2023-11-02 14:34:00
#Minister #Transportation #Leaks #Airplane #Ticket #Prices #Expensive #Page #Kompas.com