ER
AIRLINE ticket prices have been high in recent times. The increase in flight ticket prices, for example, is reflected in ticket prices for the Jakarta-Singapore route, which, based on monitoring on the online platform on Wednesday (6/7), reached around IDR4.4 million-IDR7.2 million. Before the increase, the average airline ticket price for the Jakarta-Singapore route was usually around IDR3 million.
According to the General Chair of the Indonesia National Air Carrier Association (INACA), Denon Prawiraatmadja, said a number of factors played a major role in pushing up the price of airline tickets, one of which was the increase in the price of avtur.
In line with Denon’s narrative, the price of avtur has indeed increased. Citing other media reports, the price of avtur at Soekarno-Hatta Airport for the period 15-30 June 2022 is IDR17,362 per liter. This figure has increased compared to the period 15-30 March 2022 which was IDR13,677 per liter.
“Avtur costs and leasing costs are the 2 cost components with the largest portion in operating costs. The share of both accounts for about 60% in the post of burden. In addition to aviation fuel, the strengthening of the United States (US) dollar, which is close to IDR15,000 per US dollar, also adds to the burden on airlines, because airplane rental fees are paid in US dollars,” he said.
Denon explained that another factor is that the supply of aircraft currently operating is limited due to the effect of shrinking demand due to the previous COVID-19 pandemic. I admitted that I do not have an exact count of the exact number of aircraft that are actively operating at this time, but he estimates that the number is around 50-60% of the number of aircraft operating before the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the other hand, the option to return to operating an inactive aircraft during the pandemic is also not easy and requires a time-consuming process. As a result, the demand for existing flights exceeds the supply of existing aircraft.
“To be able to make an aircraft that has not been operating for more than a year become airworthy again, you have to enter the Maintenance Repair & Overhaul (MRO), now the availability of this MRO is limited, so now the queue of aircraft to be able to fly again from the MRO is also a challenge in itself. for the airline,” Denon concluded. [kontan.co.id/photo special]
