In response to the recent implementation of the special subsidy policy for domestic passenger routes, on June 1, the reporter learned from an interview with the Civil Aviation Administration that the current subsidy policy is being implemented normally and the effect is gradually showing.
On May 26, the Civil Aviation Administration and the Ministry of Finance jointly issued a phased implementation of the financial subsidy policy for the operation of domestic passenger flights. From May 21 to July 20, subsidy policy support will be given to eligible domestic passenger flights.
At present, the policy has been implemented normally for more than 10 days.
Recently, there have been rumors on the Internet that the subsidy policy will be suspended in the third week (June 4-June 10).
In this regard, the person in charge of the relevant department of the Civil Aviation Administration said that according to the current subsidy policy, whether the company can enjoy the subsidy depends on how many flights the whole industry flies in a week. Safe operation of the minimum number of flights), according to the current subsidy conditions, airlines cannot enjoy the subsidy policy, not that the subsidy policy is suspended, and it is not that the subsidy policy is gone. This is a dynamically adjusted "bottom guarantee" policy.
The Civil Aviation Administration will monitor the actual implementation of flights on a weekly basis, and will work with the financial department to provide actual subsidies according to the subsidy conditions.
Recently, many netizens have reported that the prices of some air tickets have risen.
In this regard, the person in charge of the relevant departments of the Civil Aviation Administration said that at present, the domestic airline fares are mainly adjusted by the market, and the airlines can independently determine the specific fares according to the market supply and demand conditions.
Before the implementation of the subsidy policy, due to the serious shortage of effective demand in the air transport market and the serious distortion of the supply and demand relationship, the average fare of domestic routes was much lower than the average published fare level in the industry.
Qi Qi, associate professor and civil aviation expert at Guangzhou Civil Aviation Vocational and Technical College, told reporters: "Due to the sharp reduction in market demand for more than two years since the epidemic, air ticket prices have continued to remain low, and passengers have become accustomed to low-cost air tickets, so it may not be too early for the normal return of fares. Adaptation." Lin Zhijie, an expert in the field of civil aviation, said: "The subsidy policy will help restore the order of the civil aviation market. In the case of high fuel costs, air ticket prices have recovered, and more importantly, flight cancellations and changes have been effectively reduced, allowing passengers to travel. There is more certainty." The Civil Aviation Administration also stated that with the improvement of the national epidemic situation and the gradual recovery of the aviation market, air ticket prices are bound to gradually return to normal levels.
The Civil Aviation Administration will also further strengthen the monitoring of domestic airline ticket prices to effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
In response to the statement that "airlines raise fares and reduce passenger load factor to obtain more subsidies", the reporter saw through the public data of the Civil Aviation Administration that this year, the passenger load factor of civil aviation has generally been at a low level, and the average passenger load factor from January to April this year The passenger load factor was 55.5% in the first week of the implementation of the subsidy policy, which has not yet reached the level of 75%.
There is no basis for the claim of "controlling the occupancy factor below 75% to obtain subsidies".
In addition, the person in charge of the relevant department of the Civil Aviation Administration said that according to the policy, the subsidy is the part of the actual income from the supplementary flight that is not enough to cover the variable costs such as aviation fuel, aviation material consumption, and pilot hourly fees.
Higher fares will increase revenue, reduce losses, and reduce the amount of subsidies received.
Therefore, from the subsidy principle, there is no possibility that airlines will get more subsidies by raising fares.
From the effect, after the implementation of the subsidy policy, the frequent cancellation of flights has been greatly improved.
The person in charge of the sales department of China Airlines said that during the epidemic, due to the low passenger load factor, flight cancellations did occur from time to time.
For example, when passengers book tickets in advance, they see that there are multiple flights from place A to place B in one day. After the airline makes statistics, if the number of passengers is small, the passengers will be concentrated on one flight, and other flights will be cancelled. This does have a certain impact on the travel arrangements of passengers.
However, with this subsidy policy, it is actually a "back to the bottom" for the loss-making part of the company's actual operation that cannot cover the cost. Airlines can fly according to the planned flight volume and avoid inconvenience to passengers caused by excessive flight changes.
Data from the Civil Aviation Consumer Affairs Center also showed that in the first week of the implementation of the subsidy policy, the average daily complaints about passenger tickets and irregular flights dropped by 13.6% compared with the previous week.
In addition, the person in charge of the relevant departments of the Civil Aviation Administration also introduced to reporters that since the implementation of the subsidy policy, the national route structure has basically remained stable, and the routes and flights with large passenger demand have been increased.
At the same time, the Civil Aviation Administration also requires airlines to ensure continuous flights to remote areas and red tourist routes.
In general, the subsidy policy has been implemented for more than 10 days, which has effectively guaranteed the basic flight volume of the air crew, enhanced the travel expectations of passengers, and achieved the expected results.
In the follow-up, the Civil Aviation Administration will work with relevant departments to implement flexible and dynamic adjustments to the subsidy policy in combination with the previous implementation to meet the needs of the safe operation and recovery of civil aviation, so that the subsidy policy can play a greater role.
(Zhao Dan, China Civil Aviation News)