Flights to Madeira

Ginntonic

Can anyone explain why direct flights to Madeira seem so expensive: you can fly to the Canaries (longer flight) and even Canada (much longer flight) cheaper! What do airlines have to take into consideration before deciding what to charge?

Alan_Bowen

The first issue is that there is a much lower demand for Madeira than the other destinations and that will usually result in higher fares to any destination. It is also the case that the customer base is very different and more willing to pay more than those going to the Canaries.

The real issue however is the airport itself, frequently rated as one of the most difficult to land at, it requires pilots to be specially trained, I believe BA now have 10 out of 3200 pilots authorised to land there. The problem is usually the wind which causes far more go arounds, and often diversions from Madeira. Unlike the Canaries, where the nearest diversion airport may be only 15 or 39 minutes away, Madeira may mean a very long diversion, the crew then go out of hours and cannot operate the flight back. All these factors are considered when deciding the price to charge