European low-cost airlines are betting on derisory prices.

European low-cost airlines, like the major airlines, have been strangled by the Covid-19 crisis and uncertainties over its development, and are betting on derisory prices to attract passengers, in a context of slower than expected traffic recovery, reports AFP.

See also: Ryanair launches for the first time in its history ‘Buy One Get One Free’.

With the coffers empty after weeks of confinement and the border closures that have left their fleets on the ground, the airlines want passengers to return as soon as possible and are deploying a series of health measures to reassure them, with attractive prices to attract the most reluctant.

Since June, planes have returned shyly to European skies, with more solid traffic in July, thanks to the summer vacations, which peaked in August and tended to fall slightly in September (-54% in the first three weeks), according to Eurocontrol data.

For October, Eurocontrol’s new forecasts are for a fall of 57%, compared to the -30% forecast in April.

See also: Iberia Express offers discounts of up to 30% to fly in business class.

According to a study by the tourism consultancy ForwardKeys published on Thursday on the prices of tickets from France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom to the four main destinations in southern Europe -Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain-, prices were 15% lower in August than at the same time last year.

The lowest prices were recorded on routes between the United Kingdom and Greece, with -35% compared to 2019.

Flights from the UK to Italy or Spain, from Germany to Greece or Portugal, from France to Greece or from the Netherlands to Spain saw prices fall by 25% compared to last year, Forward Keys said.

“Don’t sit back and do nothing”

Only flights from Germany to Italy – a market from which the low-cost airlines had massively withdrawn – reached high rates, according to the same source.

Low prices “stimulate traffic” and “we can’t just sit back and wait for everything to go well and count on the politicians,” Eddie Wilson, president of Ryanair D.A.C., told AFP in early September after the airline launched an exceptional sale of tickets at very low prices.

On Thursday, the Irish low-cost airline launched a new promotional campaign.

“We have to encourage our passengers to fly again and price is a factor,” said Reginald Otten, Deputy CEO of UK airline EasyJet, in an interview with AFP.

Beyond low prices, it’s also about airlines focusing on the most profitable routes, he added.

But it’s complicated because the authorities at these flagship destinations are reintroducing restrictions, from closing borders to quarantining arrivals.

Companies are responding to the traffic meltdown “with the tools they have at their disposal: reducing capacity and making promotional offers, but they have no control over the evolution of the pandemic and over traffic restriction policies,” says Olivier Ponti, vice president of ForwardKeys.

“That’s why the effect of attractive pricing will be limited, especially since consumers are still concerned about the disruption of their plans and the quick refund of tickets in case of cancellation,” he adds.

In the longer term, as French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said a few days ago, “there may be a little less volume for a while, perhaps fewer operators – because the crisis is extremely deep for operators, for the industry – and therefore there will probably also be an increase in the price of airline tickets.