Coastal shipping companies announce discounts in ferry tickets
Coastal shipping companies on Thursday began offering ticket discounts of up to 50% on passenger ferries departing from the ports of Piraeus, Rafina, Thessaloniki and Kavala, following a meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis where they were asked to cut transport costs for the average Greek family.
Ferry ticket prices this August remain at the same levels as in August 2022, although international oil prices have fallen by about 40%, raising the question of why fares have not scaled back accordingly.
Attica Group announced ticket discounts of around 20% for a family of up to five with a car, for all destinations to and from Piraeus, and raised the discount on social tourism tickets from 25% to 50%.
SeaJets also announced additional discounts, after cutting ticket prices by up to 19% in May. More specifically, it offered a discount of up to 30% for families of four with a car and a 20% discount for people living in Aegean islands.
Golden Star Ferries announced a 20% discount for all tickets for the period July 17- September 10.
Sources from the Association of Passenger Shipping Enterprises (SEEN) had stated the increases in the prices of ferry tickets in 2021 and the first half of 2022, which shaped the current high prices, covered a wider package of hikes in operating expenses of the ferry companies, which from 2020 through 2022 overwhelmingly produced operating losses.
In addition, the reduction in international oil prices has not been fully passed on to marine fuels, SEEN sources say, as the way suppliers price fuel has changed in the last six weeks, resulting in the slashing of price cut margins.
[AMNA, Kathimerini]
