To each his own territorial continuity. In Sardinia, the debate on the system of air connections with Rome and Milan is always topical, now more than ever. But how do you fly to other regions of Europe?
Corsica can count on four airports, well distributed on the (small) territory of the island: Ajaccio, Bastia, Calvi and Figari. And compared to the Sardinian system, there is also a higher number of destinations. In addition to the connection with Paris, the courses can also have flights to Nice and Marseille at discounted prices. Here the routes are guaranteed by Air Corsica, a company made up of 60 per cent public capital (the region), 30 per cent by Air France and the rest divided between banks and a shipping company. The fleet consists of 13 aircraft (8 owned, 5 chartered). Ticket prices for residents: to go to Marseille or Nice you spend around 100 euros, round trip. The fare reaches 190 euros for connections with Paris (the longer distance must also be taken into account).
Then there is Spain. The continuity is characterized by lower prices, more competition and a horizon of connections at discounted fares that goes from Madrid to the smallest and most remote of the Spanish airports. The inhabitants of the Balearics, Canaries and the African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla buy tickets for a quarter of the market price.
In practice, in Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca (just over a million residents) tickets are discounted by 75%. And often you can count on fares that are already quite affordable, even without concessions: there is no monopoly on the routes, continuity is open to low cost and you can choose between different companies depending on the time of year. The same rules also apply to the Canary Islands (2.1 million inhabitants). State subsidies to guarantee the mobility of those who live in the islands are worth a total of 222 million, of which about 130 only for the Balearics. Sidereal figures if compared with ours, which are around 40 million.
Spain has preferred to use the "social aid" scheme: the routes remain in the hands of the free market, it is the companies that decide timetables and conditions. In this way, any intervention by the Competition Directorate of the European Commission, the one that blocked the last calls for Sardinian continuity, is excluded.
But there are also other benefits. Because the Spanish state recognizes the right to a discount (from 5 to 10 percent) even to large families with more than three children. Aid can be added together. And therefore the members of a "large family" living in the islands are entitled to a reduced rate of up to 85 percent. In short: in some cases the residents of the Balearics pay airport taxes - which remain outside the calculation of discounts - and little more.
And in Portugal? Until 2015 the Azores and Madeira had a territorial continuity very similar to the Sardinian one: routes entrusted in monopoly to a single airline, schedules established at the table with the government, fixed rate (179 euros for a round trip ticket) guaranteed to residents and university students. But then the Portuguese islands of the Atlantic Ocean changed their system. The administrations looked around and took a cue from the Spanish model: routes also open to low cost and contributions collected directly from travelers, in the name of the right to mobility.
A revolution. Both for the wallet and for the ease of connections. The costs of traveling from the islands to the mainland have been reduced. The trip (over two hours of flight) has a maximum price: the inhabitants of the Azores know that they will not spend more than 134 euros (86 euros for those of Madeira), because the difference up to a maximum of 400 euros will be paid by the state. But if the companies were to offer tickets at lower costs, so much the better: no public contribution is needed and the traveler, in any case, saves. The opportunities to find a route at the most convenient price and time have grown. Because low cost has been included in the connections between Portugal and its islands.
The contributions to reduce ticket costs are not only limited to flights to predetermined destinations, as happens in Sardinia with Fiumicino and Linate. Portuguese continuity provides for a "social allowance" for all journeys to the continent. So from the 11 airports in the Azores and Madeira you can fly at low prices to Lisbon, Porto and Faro, the three main national airports. And contributions are also foreseen for trips between the various islands, with an identical mechanism: the maximum cost will be 119 euros, the rest of the bill will be paid by the state. Like? The price is advanced by the passengers, who then have to request a refund within 90 days.