We've often talked about it on the Voyages d'Affaires website: the increase in taxes on air transport in Germany is now having a major impact on the development of air travel in this country. The decision by the French authorities to multiply air taxes and charges between three and eight times through the "Taxe de Solidarité sur les Billets d'Avion" (TSBA) is a sobering one. The FNAM (Fédération Nationale de l'Aviation et de ses Métiers) would like to see a study launched on the impact of this increase on air transport in France. In this respect, the German example is edifying.
The German Air Transport Association (Bundesverband der Deutschen Luftverkehrswirtschaft or BDL) and the Association of German Airports (ADV) are denouncing the surge in aviation security taxes and various charges that have almost doubled since 2020. The latest is the increase in air transport tax of around 25% on 1 May 2024. Taxes and charges currently average €30 for a medium-haul flight in Germany. A flight in an Airbus A320neo in Europe is five to ten times more expensive than in other European countries.
Spectacular costs
The association compared the costs of short and medium-haul flights with those of long-haul routes. The analysis includes state-induced costs (air transport tax, air safety charges, air navigation charges for arrivals and departures) at several German and European airports across a total of 49 hubs.
For medium-haul flights (Airbus A320-200) :
- Germany: €3,545 on average.
- Neighbouring European countries: average of €1,298.
- Cost difference: approximately 173% higher in Germany.
Local presence costs for long-haul flights (Boeing 787-9) :
- Germany: €17,991 on average.
- Neighbouring European countries: average of €4,392.
- Cost difference: approximately 309% higher in Germany.
ADV also gives examples by overhead line:
- Berlin - Palma (Airbus A320-200): €3,698.
- London (Heathrow) - Palma (Airbus A320-200): €1,828.
- Berlin - Palma (Airbus A321neo): €4,495.
- London (Heathrow) - Palma (Airbus A321neo): €2,248.
- Frankfurt - New York (Boeing 787-9): €18,303.
- Paris (CDG) - New York (Boeing 787-9): €6,413.
The consequences are very real for air transport and the economy, which is a major exporter. By the end of August 2024, German airports had handled a cumulative total of just under 140 million passengers. This is still 16.7% less than in 2019. In Europe, airport traffic is now above 2019 levels (+2.3% for August 2024 compared with August 2019).
When supply no longer keeps pace with demand
The problem for German air transport is now supply well below demand. The BDL points out that airline seat capacity in Germany reached 83% of its 2019 level in the first half of 2024. Far behind France, the UK and Spain (see chart).
Comparison of seat capacity in the first half of 2024 and 2019 (Source: SRS Analyser/BDL)
One of the consequences of the high cost of setting up in Germany is that the disappearance of the offer. Still according to the BDL, the seat capacity offered by traditional European airlines corresponded to just 82% of the 2019 figures at the end of the first half of 2024. For non-European airlines, this offer stood at 95%.
But it's for point-to-point carriers that the difference is most glaring. In the first half of 2024, supply only reached 71% of the pre-Covid level. The recent announcements by Ryanair and Eurowings that they will be reducing their activity by 2025 will accelerate this trend. On the other hand, on average in Europe, the number of seats offered by low-cost carriers rose to 112 % compared with 2019. Some markets were even significantly higher, such as Italy (134 %), France (129 %) and Spain (115%).
(Figures for an A320 aircraft on a medium-haul route. Graph: BDL - source: DLR- translation: Luc Citrinot)
Taxes that would favour foreign companies
Another consequence is that overtaxation in Germany is encouraging the emergence of international airlines. This translates into steady rise in long-haul transfer passengers. According to the BDL, between 2010 and 2024, the number of passengers on the Germany-Asia route on non-stop flights fell from 37% to 25%. At the same time, 17% will make a connection at another European airport in 2024, compared with 25% in 2010. But it is the hubs outside Europe that are taking the lion's share. They will attract 57% of passengers transferring to Asia in the first half of 2024, compared with 38% in 2010.
Until now, German politicians seemed indifferent to this development. But attitudes are changing. Not least because the Chairman of Lufthansa has just taken up the cause. In an interview with the newspaper Bild am SonntagCarsten Spohr, is expecting new line closures from airlines based in Germany. " I am very concerned about the service to our economic centres.he said. The extreme increase in state costs in air transport is leading to a further reduction in supply. More and more airlines are avoiding German airports or cancelling important routes." .
Carsten Spohr's observation is already being reflected at Lufthansa in the discontinuation of a large number of domestic routes, the elimination of intercontinental routes, and the introduction of new routes. the reduction in Eurowings' activity in Hamburg in 2025 (with 1,000 fewer flights planned for the summer season). While politicians across the Rhine have tended to dismiss Ryanair's recriminations out of hand - as they are wont to do - they should listen more carefully to the thinly veiled threats made by the Chairman of Lufthansa.
A lesson for French politicians to ponder before the tax is applied. France is well on the way to suffering from a " syndrome Germany "for its air transport. This is what the FNAM tried to demonstrate earlier this week.
