The introduction of new high-speed trains made by Hyundai Rotem in Ukraine from May 27 will not affect the volume of domestic passenger transportation by air, the Kyiv-based Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) has told Interfax-Ukraine.
The airline said that the prices of fuel, air navigation, airport fees and the cost of plane leasing influence the prices of tickets for domestic flights. The prices of tickets for other types of transport do not impact the price of the ticket."The advantage of flights is that in an hour one can reach Kyiv from any city in Ukraine, hold meetings and business talks and return back in two or three hours," UIA added.
Its experts said that the situation for Kyiv residents is the same: they can fly to destination and return in several hours."This is impossible to do with any other type of transport. Passengers will always have a choice between flights, trips by road, by rail, depending on their wishes and desires," the airline said.
UIA said that it is important to provide for the inter-modal train-plane transportation under European principles."If high-speed [or at least usual] trains have a chance to stop at Ukrainian airports and bring passengers for international flights, this would increase volumes of transportation," the airline said.
As reported, head of the Association of Automobile Carriers of Ukraine (VAAP), MP Ihor Shkyria, said that the organization of high-speed railway services by Hyundai trains will lead to a revision in the price formation principles of the Ukrainian transport sector.
"With the arrival of the Hyundai trains, transport could become marketable, and price formation for transport will be come marketable, and not politically [influenced]," he said in comments to Interfax-Ukraine.
Shkyria said that the prices of air tickets are high in Ukraine."The passengers who take Hyundai trains from Kyiv to Lviv, Kharkiv or Donetsk, will be different to those who today use compartments and carriages with numbered reserved seats. Most people will reorient to these trains, despite the high price of tickets, and some passengers will use the trains instead of expensive and unreliable Ukrainian air transportation," Shkyria said.
Ukrzaliznytsia published the price of tickets for Hyundai trains.
On Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the price of tickets for Hyundai trains will be the following: Kyiv-Kharkiv – Hr 422.91 for first class and Hr 275.66 for second class, Kyiv-Lviv – Hr 373.89 for first class and Hr 207.45 for second class, – and Donetsk – Hr 564.25 for first class and Hr 267.75 for second class.
On Thursdays and Saturdays, a 10% discount will be applied, and the price of tickets on Fridays and Sundays will be increased by 10%.If round trip tickets are bought, there is a 10% discount.Ukraine International Airlines was founded in 1992 and is completely privately owned. It operates twenty mid-range Boeing 737s.
