Planning on flying to or from Spain this summer? Now’s the time to book your tickets before prices increase even further, the country’s Tourism Minister has advised.
Anyone wanting to travel this summer should buy tickets as soon as possible to avoid fare increases due to rising jet fuel costs and the war in Iran, Spain’s Minister of Industry and Tourism Jordi Hereu said.
“What we recommend is that tickets be purchased now, because currently kerosene that was purchased some time ago is being used and therefore there is an element of price evolution,” Hereu urged during an interview with Spanish business newspaper Expansión.
“It is already clear that prices have risen and this could affect demand,” he explained, adding that Spanish and European authorities are already taking steps to prevent fuel shortages.
Disruptions to the global oil supply have caused prices to rise by around 50 percent since the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on February 28th.
This in turn has added around €85 to the price of long-haul flights to and from Europe.
Hereu pointed out that Spain has larger fuel reserves and greater production capacity than some other countries, but warned that it could cause problems here too if tourism demand falls.
Despite an overall six percent increase in scheduled seats for this summer to and from Spain, many airlines plan to cut capacity on routes with slim margins, according to industry sources.
Budget airline Ryanair admitted that the fuel crisis is putting pressure on prices and demand, while Vueling has frozen increases of seats on certain routes due to the uncertainty.
Both Iberia and Air Europa, have indicated, however, that their planned operations remain unchanged and that they have no plans to reduce capacity at this time.
This doesn’t mean that ticket prices won’t increase though, so if you have plans to travel this summer and haven’t booked your tickets yet, now is the time to get organised or risk facing steep price hikes.
