The Competition Council is analyzing the impact of Blue Air’s exit from the market and the reduction of TAROM’s activity and the reason why the price of tickets for the airlines Wizzair, Ryanair and more has increased so much, said the president of the Competition Council, Bogdan Chiriţoiu.
“We’re seeing market effects. With Blue Air exiting and TAROM reducing its operations, leaving about half of the four major aviation players active in Romania, the impact is noticeable. This has contributed to higher ticket prices. However, TAROM’s continued operation helps mitigate further increases. Across Europe, we’re also seeing a decline in the number of airlines: Scandinavian companies have merged, and Portuguese TAP is up for sale. So, the reduction in market players is clear. The exit of Blue Air and the reduced activity of TAROM are impacting the market, which explains the rising ticket prices for Wizzair, Ryanair, and even some TAROM routes,” the chief of the competition body stated.
The Competition Council launched an analysis aimed at how airlines set the level of plane ticket prices for routes departing from Romania, according to the information provided by the competition authority.
In the framework of the study, the institution will analyze the structure of the air passenger transport services market in Romania, as well as its functioning mechanisms, in the context in which the airlines have considerably increased the prices of plane tickets.
The analysis was triggered in the context of the large increases in airline ticket prices, with the exit of Blue Air from the market and TAROM’s renunciation of the operation of some air flights.
Thus, the demand and supply on the market will be analyzed, the level of transparency of the way of setting ticket prices practiced by the airlines, including their dynamic adjustment, and possible market dysfunctions will be identified.
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