There is an expensive flight price but everything is normal. This is the conclusion reached by the Competition and Market Authority, according to which – in the case of direct flights to Sicily and Sardinia – there would be no unfair practices, customer profiling or “competitive issues” in the dear.
At the hearing of the Parliamentary Commission for combating the disadvantages deriving from insularity with regard to flights to Sardinia and Sicily, the Authority actually explained that, based on the information provided by the airlines, it analyzed over 23 and a half million data on tickets sold per single route on national flights in 2023.
The Antitrust has in fact launched a fact-finding investigation into pricing algorithms in passenger air transport along the routes to and from Sicily and Sardinia, expected to close on 31 December 2025.
No competitive issues:
The analysis carried out did not substantially reveal the adoption of customer ‘profiling’ practices aimed at customizing prices based on the type of device, the operating system and the user’s browsing history – explains the general secretary. Overall, the analysis conducted on the markets of domestic routes to and from Sicily and Sardinia did not reveal elements of competitive criticality in relation to the functioning of the pricing algorithms or the concrete dynamics of prices, such as to suggest, at present, phenomena of collusion between airlines susceptible to interventions pursuant to antitrust legislation.
Associations arise
Consumer associations start from an assumption: it is now known that, during the Christmas holidays, flight prices increase dramatically. A ticket to Sicily, for example, can cost more than an intercontinental flight, a situation that can no longer be accepted. Assoutenti, in fact, strongly denounces this phenomenon, underlining that the increase in flight prices between Northern Italy and the islands is not an inevitable problem. Competition between airlines, says the association, is now almost zero during the holidays, and consumers find themselves without valid alternatives to save money.
Gabriele Melluso, president of Assoutenti, calls for urgent intervention by the State, to counteract the high cost of flights and guarantee territorial continuity that respects the peculiarities of the islands, as enshrined in the Italian Constitution. The right of access to the islands cannot be made subject to exorbitant prices, especially during the holidays, when demand is highest.
Codacons also takes action against the phenomenon of high flight prices, accusing airlines of abusing algorithms to determine prices. These systems, explains the association, lead to unsustainable increases in costs, which in some cases even increase prices by up to 900% more than in other periods of the year. In some cases, it is even cheaper to fly abroad and then continue to the islands, rather than take a direct flight.
Finally, the National Consumers Union calls for urgent legislative intervention. Massimiliano Dona, president of the UNC, highlights the need to modify existing legislation to make controls on price increases more stringent. The current law, in fact, allows the Antitrust to intervene only in the case of algorithmic coordination between airlines, but leaves its hands tied in the event of anomalous increases due to other incorrect practices.
An invitation not to passively accept the high cost of flights: it is time to act to guarantee citizens fair and just access to transport during the holidays.
Source: Assoutenti
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