Canaries-Mainland air fares double in price since Spanair closure

Since the closure of Spanair on January 27th 2012, traveling between the Canaries and the mainland costs almost double what it did 5 weeks ago.

The main problem centers on the connections with Barcelona airport, where Spanair based its operations. Vueling and Ryanair were the only two companies that connected Gran Canaria and Tenerife to Barcelona in February. The first one with a daily flight and Ryanair only four days a week. However, there are days when the supply is insufficient.

Buying a ticket for the flight between Barcelona Gran Canaria for next Monday at Vueling was not possible and for Tuesday involved a cost of €186. ‘Before the closure of Spanair it was easy to find tickets for under €100’ said a travel agent employee. Another option is to go through Madrid, which lowers the current final price but requires too many stops that can lead to overnight stays at Barajas airport in Madrid.

The president of the National Confederation of Travel Agents and Tour Operators, Rafael Gallego, said that rates have not changed, although ‘it is currently more difficult to get promotional rates.’

Following the closure of Spanair other companies announced their intention to take over the supply of available slots. To date, only Iberia has increased its flight frequency, with daily flights from Madrid to Gran Canaria and Tenerife North.

In the second half of the month it increased capacity by 4,000 more seats to cater for the extra demand for the carnival period. ‘Our commitment from the week following the closure of Spanair was to increase our offer by 20%,’ Iberia sources said yesterday.

Air Europa’s contribution to help the situation has been to allocate a greater number of times their Airbus 330 and Boeing 737 fleet travel to and from the islands when the planes are available.

British Airways stopped flying to Barcelona in November from the Islands and, ‘at the moment, there are no plans to reconsider that route’ said the sources mentioned.