This is always good news for both business and leisure travellers. Air fares in France continue to fall, a trend that has been observed for several months. It even accelerated in July.
While air fares had increased by 8.6% cumulative over 2023, they haven't moved at all (0%) between January and July 2024 for the whole of France (mainland and overseas departments). Taking metropolitan France alone, prices are down slightly (-0.3%).
The acceleration of the fall in fares is clear, according to the DGAC. In July, the index fell by -5.4% compared with the same month in 2023.. The same index stood at -2.9% in June and -1.4% in May.
No reduction on French domestic routes
From mainland FranceThe decline was seen across all geographical clusters (-5.5 %), but was more pronounced on the international network (-6.2 %).
On the domestic networkAirline ticket prices fall by 1,5 % between July 2023 and July 2024. But this fall in fares is misleading. In fact, it is due exclusively to the fall in fares on overseas routes. On the metropolitan France domestic network, prices up 1.4 %This was driven in particular by fare increases by low-cost carriers. By 2023, domestic air fares in mainland France had jumped by 14.5%!
On the international networkTicket prices fell by -6.2 % in July, the sharpest fall seen since the start of the year. This fall was more sustained on the international medium-haul network (-6.9 %) than for the long-haul international network (-6.2 %). However, medium-haul fares rose by 1.5% over the first seven months of the year. The increase remains particularly strong to destinations in Europe excluding the EU (+4.6%) and to North Africa/Middle East (+3.1%).
Travelling to Asia is cheaper
In the long-haul segment, theAsia-Pacific recorded the sharpest fall in rates. These were down by a cumulative 7.8% and even 12.3% in July.. This is followed by theLatin America the subcontinent displays a fall in prices of 5.7% over seven months and 5.2% in July 2024. The fall is more moderate forNorth America and the Middle East in total (respectively -2,9% and -2,5%). It is only -0,9% on theAfrica for the first seven months, a situation linked to less competition in this segment.
Air passenger price index published by the DGAC is based on air fares collected on 535 overhead lines (origin, destination, carrier) direct and indirect, provided by more than 70 carriers. All prices collected are for return journeys departing from France (mainland France or French overseas departments). They include all applicable taxes, fees and surcharges.
The DGAC notes over 230,000 airfares each month through the Travelport booking system and airline websites.
