Pedro Fiol, the president of the Aviba association of travel agencies in the Balearics, claims that airlines are charging "scandalous prices" for flights between the Balearics and the mainland.
"Increases range from 20 to 35%. The 75% residents discount is not noticeable because of these increases. It's as if the 50% still applied." He argues that it is high ticket prices which have led to a fall in Spanish tourism this summer. And heading into the autumn, he envisages no change. "Airlines aren't getting into a price war, because they wish to optimise their flights to the maximum."
Fiol maintains that the price increases are not due to the cost of fuel. They are commercial and strategic and are taking advantage of increased demand for travel to all destinations, whether for holidays, for work or for family reasons. As an example, he draws attention to the fact that all connecting flights from the islands to Madrid and onto Latin American countries are practically full until the beginning of January next year.
In the case of flights to Central and South America, Fiol points out that residents of the islands who are citizens of countries such as Argentina make one trip a year to visit their families. "This increases the occupancy of flights from Palma to Madrid and on connecting flights. The price of flights to Latin America has increased by 50% compared with last year and in some cases by 100%. Return flights can be up to 2,400 euros."
He adds that European flights have also been affected, saying that there have been "record price increases of more than 30%". "A flight between Mallorca and any airport German can be 250 euros and there are some flights for the UK that are 600 euros."