Mallorca residents air ticket discounts under threat
The discount applied to Mallorca residents air travel to mainland Spain may become a casualty of the economic downturn. All EU citizens who are resident in the Balearics are currently entitled to a 50% reduction in air fares to ensure that links to the mainland remain strong.
The Spanish central government has proposed that the discount be limited in an attempt to cut costs. They say that only 20% of residents use 41% of the subsidy. It has been suggested that business class flights should be excluded from the discount. The Balaeric government has hit back, saying that the the discount needs to be protected as air travel is the only way for residents to stay in contact with relatives and business partners on mainland Spain.
Each year, the airlines apply the 50% discount to 3.94 million passengers flying in or out of Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza. The average price of flights to the mainland is €67, of which the resident pays €33.52, with inter-island flights costing slightly more, at €35.40 per flight. A British consultancy, Advanced Logistics Group has concluded that airfares between the islands and mainland Spain is on average 37% more expensive than a similar domestic flight on the mainland. The high cost has been attributed to lack of competition, although the counter-argument suggests that airlines charge more in the Balearics because they know that many of their customers are entitled to the 50% discount.
There are fears that without the discount, fewer residents would travel between the islands and to the mainland, which would in turn hit the airlines, resulting in fewer scheduled flights. With 46% of residents of the islands being of foreign descent, the importance of air connections off the islands cannot be over-stated. Fewer flights would also have implications for the tourism industry.
The debate between the Spanish central government and the local Balearic government officials will continue over the coming weeks.
