The Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), the Cyprus-Greece Business Association and its Hellenic Organization (Greek Organization) addressed a joint press conference on Wednesday to the Government to intervene to correct the problem of high ticket prices from Cyprus to Greece EOT).
According to a table prepared by the Cyprus-Greece Business Association, per week for the rest of the summer season the lowest price for a return ticket from Larnaca to Athens with a 23 kg luggage ranges from € 243 or as low as € 690. For Thessaloniki the corresponding prices are € 284 the lowest and € 508 the highest. The companies compared were AEGEAN, Blue Air and Cyprus Airways.
CCCI President: Today's prices refer to an informal cartel
Speaking at the conference, the President of the CCCI, Christodoulos Agastiniotis, stated that the current prices are unacceptable and refer to an informal cartel between the companies and the state should see this issue.
He noted that the cost of the air ticket Cyprus - Greece, Greece - Cyprus, can not be compared many times with the cost of London - New York, a longer and more expensive trip.
Referring to the offers that exist, he said that on each flight the seats are limited and when you go to book a ticket they tell you that they have been sold, while he added that the ads are often misleading.
As he mentioned, because the law of supply and demand works, the supply must be increased in order for the prices to be more competitive.
"The issue is huge and the state and especially the Ministry of Communications, must, among other things, see this issue immediately," he said.
He added that the costs are very high in relation to the length and time of the trip, while corresponding trips to Europe cost much less. "Certainly these prices refer to super profits," he said, noting that in Cyprus, where there is neither road nor ferry connection, there is this exploitation of prices.
He further stated that when Cyprus claimed the seat of the European Labor Office, or the seat of the European Medicines Agency, one of the main obstacles was the connectivity of Cyprus and the cost of air tickets.
Answering a question, he disagreed with the creation of state aviation, stating that the state is a bad businessman, as has been proven many times in the past and continues to be proven even now in some companies, state-controlled organizations. He noted that the state should intervene in free competition when corrections need to be made, creating supply for prices to fall.
Sharing his personal experience, he said that a CCCI delegation recently went to London and the tickets cost € 210 per person.
Suggestions from the Cyprus-Greece Business Association
The President of the Cyprus-Greece Business Association, Joseph Joseph, noted that the phenomenon of expensive tickets to Athens and Thessaloniki has been observed for many months without a solution. He added that many members of the Association as well as ordinary citizens complain that the prices of air tickets to Greece (and elsewhere) are very expensive and often inaccessible.
He noted that the official response to the steps is that "we recognize the problem, but prices are formed freely by supply and demand", while he said that in order to address the problem, the supply of air seats on routes to Greece should be increased.
Mr. Joseph pointed out that the airline seats offered to Greece by all the companies together do not cover the demand, since only the Cypriots who travel to Greece are estimated at 500.000 per year.
The very high prices, he said, discourage passenger traffic, burden travelers' wallets, affect the development of closer business relationships and reduce tourist traffic between the two countries.
It was suggested that the airlines that currently have flights to Athens and Thessaloniki increase their routes, in order to increase the offered seats, to give incentives to reliable airlines to include in their flight program the routes Cyprus, Athens and Thessaloniki, to approach foreign local companies, which fly from their headquarters to Greece, in order to turn Cyprus as their intermediate station to Athens and Thessaloniki, to reduce the taxes at the airport for the routes Cyprus - Greece and to speed up the procedures for the ferry connection Cyprus - Greece.
As he said, these suggestions will be forwarded to the Ministry of Communications.
Appeal for ferry connection as well
Regarding the Cyprus-Greece ferry connection, Mr. Iosif stated that the investigation carried out by the competent services is expected following a relevant decision of the Council of Ministers. He expressed the hope that the investigation will be completed soon, so that Cyprus can apply to the EU to include the Cyprus-Greece ferry line in a special program.
Mr. Joseph called on the government to take additional initiatives to find solutions, because the citizens, as he said, can no longer afford to pay these high fares.
For his part, the General Manager of the Hellenic Tourism Organization, Theodoros Thalassinos, stated that he shares the anxiety and concern of those who spoke at the conference, noting that after the closure of Cobalt, prices rose to a level that the average budget of both Greeks and Cypriots guest can not stand it. He said that EOT received strong protests from people of both low and medium income.
He added that the Cypriot government should pay special attention and sensitivity to the issue of the regular Cyprus-Greece interconnection and that the Cyprus-Greece ferry reconnection, which has been pending for 19 years, should be accelerated so that coastal shipping becomes at least a competitive complementary transport. means that the Cypriot and Greek traveler is not completely dependent on air carriers.
The President of the Association of Tour Operators ACTA, Vassilis Stamataris, stated that with the closure of Cobalt it is estimated that the loss of seats will be 10-15%. He agreed that the prices are expensive but said that there are lower prices even for July and August which reach € 200. He reassured the people that the prices are not so prohibitive and the traffic to and from Greece has not decreased. He noted that numbers and competition are what drive prices and that many companies have closed in the past due to competition.
Source: KYPE