International Property News

Czechs buy air tickets worth record CZK 10bn in 2007

1st April 2008

Czechs bought more than 750,000 plane tickets worth over Kc10bn in 2007, the highest amount in history, the Mlada fronta Dnes daily says Tuesday, referring to data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Czechs spent Kc7.98bn for tickets only last year, a growth of 11 percent year-on-year. They also paid around Kc2bn for airport and other fees.

The number of plane tickets grew faster than companies' turnover as plane ticket prices are falling mainly owing to competition. Last year, the price dropped by 6 percent on average to Kc10,423, the paper says.

Airlines' main clients are above all companies which send their staff on business trips although the market for individual travellers is increasing.

Czechs' travelling habits as well as the market for companies selling plane tickets are changing, says the Mlada fronta.

The biggest agencies are raising their share at the expense of medium-sized and small ones. The leader on the market by turnover was Czech transport company Student Agency, followed by Asiana, CWT, Orbix and HRG.

Complete figures on how Czechs used planes last year do not exit.

Statistics lack data on low-cost carriers, for instance, whose services are used by around a quarter of all passengers flying from Prague. Agencies estimate low-cost airlines make up around 10 to 20 percent of the total turnover.

Besides, the total tickets number does not include flights sold by airlines themselves, the paper adds.