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THE MINISTER of Transportation, Budi Karya Sumadi, said that there are a number of factors that cause plane ticket prices to remain expensive at this time. Among other factors, the Minister of Transportation revealed that the increase in aviation fuel prices was the biggest factor causing plane ticket prices to remain high.
This is because 40% of flight operational costs come from purchasing aviation fuel, so the current increase in aviation fuel prices affects the total cost of flight operations. 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% of the cost. So, if the price of Pertamina’s avtur can be reduced to the same price as Singapore, this will really help,” said Minister Budi during the Kompas100 CEO Forum, quoted from YouTube Kompas Daily, Thursday (11/02), 2023.
Apart from that, the aviation industry, which has not yet fully recovered after the COVID-19 pandemic, also affects plane ticket prices.
Budi Karya Sumadi explained that Indonesian airlines are currently lacking a fleet of aircraft to operate to carry passengers, from the original 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. Currently, the availability of aircraft spare parts is limited due to the supply chain being disrupted by global socio-political conditions,” he stated.
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 planes like ATRs in remote areas are drastically reduced because there are no spare parts,” he remarked.
He pointed out, therefore, I invite 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 concluded. [kompas.com]
