12/19/2023 – 1:05
The three largest airlines in Brazil – Azul, Gol and Latam – announced, this Monday (18), in Brasília, offering tickets between R$699 and R$799 per segment traveled in 2024. Together, they will offer more than 25 million airline tickets.
The measure is part of the first stage of the Air Transport Universalization Program, detailed by the Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, alongside the directors of the three companies, as a strategy to reduce air ticket prices and reduce operating costs. in the country, in 2024.
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Other actions presented by the companies include: more affordable prices for tickets purchased up to 14 days in advance of the travel date, inclusion of rescheduling services without charging an additional fee, offering more affordable rates for purchases made on certain days of the week; increase in the number of flights offered; expansion of the airline fleet, free baggage check-in and seat reservations for purchases made at the last minute and an increase in the number of seats available.
The minister believes that the announced measures will make domestic flights more accessible to passengers. “A set of packages that will benefit the Brazilian end consumer. And the first stage [do Programa de Universalização do Transporte Aéreo]throughout 2024, we will, increasingly, alongside the airlines, alongside the entire government, pursue so that we can have a reduction in fares in Brazil and ensure that, in the end, the Brazilian consumer travels more .”
For Silvio Costa Filho, the airlines' plans are the result of constant dialogue between the federal government and companies. “The government cannot intervene, especially because they are private companies and we have free trade. What we are doing is raising awareness.”
Average price
The prices of air tickets with maximum fares, of R$699 and R$799 per segment, were, however, above the actual average air fare on domestic flights, published by the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac). In the latest survey by the regulatory agency, in September 2023, the average price reached R$748, the highest of the year. O Anac panel presents data on air fares sold since 2002.
Asked about how the rates announced by the companies above the record found by Anac would make tickets cheaper, the Minister of Ports and Airports understands that, even so, the population could benefit. “We are pursuing this value so that there can be a reduction, but without a doubt, we will, above all, buy cheaper tickets in advance, in this agenda that we have been working on,” assesses the minister.
Airline plans
The proposals from the three airlines will be valid from 2024. Check out the main measures announced.
Blue
• offering 10 million tickets for up to R$799 each way, per year, for purchases up to 14 days in advance;
• Free seat assignment and checked baggage for last-minute purchases;
The CEO of Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras, John Rodgerson, clarifies that a third of the seats on the company's flights will be in this condition. “We are excited to make this contribution as a first step, before having a way out with judicialization or fuel, other things, because we believe in the free market, that if we attack the cost of interest in this country, if we attack the price of fuel , the average fare will naturally fall.”
Goal
• 15 million tickets for up to R$699 each way for purchases at least 14 days in advance;
• promotion with flights from R$600 to R$800, for purchases made 21 days in advance of the flight date;
• free baggage check-in for passengers who buy a last-minute ticket;
• emergency assistance rates with a discount of up to 80% on the available rate, when a direct family member dies.
“We are here, precisely, to convey this perception, to make commitments so that we can create this positive agenda, so that the Brazilian population knows that there is a sector that actually wants to grow, have its doors open and provide access ”, said Gol CEO, Celso Ferrer.
Latam
• advertising campaigns to teach consumers about how to buy cheaper airline tickets, with planning;
• promotion with a weekly destination with fares below R$199;
• update of the loyalty program, which is no longer valid for the use of miles;
• increase in supply by 3 million seats, with an average of 10 thousand daily seats on the company's flights.
The CEO of LATAM Airlines Brasil, Jerome Cadier, also announced that in the airline's miles program, points will not expire in two years. “Our points will not expire after 2024, as long as they are used with LATAM.”
He also emphasized the need for educational work with passengers in Brazil regarding advance ticket purchases, as 6% of tickets cost more than R$2,000 because, in most cases, tickets are purchased less than 10 days before the boarding. “We need to make a collective effort, so that the Brazilian people can try to buy tickets more in advance, because the more planning and predictability, they will buy cheaper tickets in Brazil”, he stated.
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