Domestic airfares jumped almost immediately after regional air carriers Rex and Bonza exited capital city routes, new research shows.
The evaporation of competition in the domestic market from July caused a 12.5 per cent spike in the cost of the cheapest airfares, data from the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport index revealed.
Today’s national news includes the Albanese administration being criticized for an immigration mishap, the government allocating $3.6 million for women’s health literacy,
Future Made in Australia assistant minister Tim Ayres said Labor is attentively listening to the business sector, and domestic airfares up by over 12 per cent following the withdrawal of regional airlines.
That means travellers could go from paying $150 to $170 for cheaper fares and from $350 to $400 for more expensive fares.
Former ACCC boss Allan Fels said the impact of competition on ticket prices has been “going on [for] 30 years”.
In three weeks’ time, the cost of changing your flight details on a Qantas flight will be hiked from $99 to $199.
Contrastingly, in more competitive markets like the US, major airlines have scrapped those charges almost altogether.
