CNH Tours has just learned that the government of Ecuador
announced the end of jet fuel subsidies last Saturday,
26th November. This is to be applied as of January
1st, 2012 and will result in a US$90 million savings for
the government. Information is not yet complete, but
the news we are receiving is that flight tickets to Galapagos may
go up by as much as 20% in the new year. This
would result in an increase of approximately
US$80. Those people who have already paid
for their Galapagos vacation may be required to cover this
difference - it all depends on how the increase will be applied
(e.g. new bookings only, or to all new and existing
bookings). CNH Tours imagines (and hopes!) that given
the relatively high administrative overhead involved in trying to
get an additional $80 from existing paid bookings, that this
increase would hopefully only apply to new ones.
The two main airlines flying into Galapagos, TAME and Aerogal,
have not posted any information in this regard on their
websites.
CNH Tours lived in Galapagos from 1998-2002 - and during that
time, air tickets from Quito cost a little over US$400
return. Today, they cost about $440. A 20% increase
would lead to a ticket costing as much as $528.
More info will be posted here as details come available.
