ANALYSIS OF FACTORS INFLUENCING THE PRICING OF AIR TICKETS

Abstract

The article is devoted to discussing topical issues about the formation of the price of plane tickets. The paper analyzes and evaluates the degree of influence of factors on the pricing process using regression analysis methods. At the first stage, a review of the available research sources of foreign and Russian authors was carried out, according to the results of which the main characteristics determining the price level of air tickets were identified and considered. In the course of studying the issue, the experience and conclusions, based on previously performed studies of foreign segments of air transportation, are extended to the selection and analysis of current data on the Russian market. The assessment of the degree of a possible influence of the considered price-forming indicators on air ticket fares was carried out using four econometric models of the dependence of ticket prices on exchange rates, fare/air route characteristics, socio-economic and secondary factors. They are checked for lowcost and economy segments based on information on 15 thousand of air tickets of Russian air carriers for the period from 19.01.2021 to 12.02.2021, presented in the form of a single data set. The data was collected independently by daily monitoring of information from the official websites of airlines, federal websites of Rosstat, and Rosaviation. As a result of the research conducted within the framework of this article, it was revealed that with an increase in the distance of the flight, the cost of the ticket increases proportionally. The average income of the population negatively affects prices in the economy and budget classes. A similar trend can be traced concerning the cost of jet fuel at the airport of departure and nonstop flights. Reducing the number of days between the dates of ticket purchase and flight departure will also affect the increase in ticket prices. With a decrease in the exchange rate of foreign currency, the cost of economy class air tickets changes significantly compared to the budget. The reverse trend is observed in the case of the IATA exchange rate, where the effect falls on the last group of shipments. The listed characteristics are identified as the most significant relative to the considered classes of tariff groups in the Russian aviation industry. The results of the work can be recommended to air carriers for use in the process of forming the cost of tickets to achieve maximum efficiency and profitability of the business, used by consumers of the airline services as a tool for finding and buying air tickets with the best conditions and offers.