There has been growing discontent on the island regarding the number and cost of flights during the winter months compared to those available to and from Palma, Mallorca, or Ibiza.
Once the tourist season is over, the only direct national flights from Menorca are to Palma, Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia and internationally the picture is even worse with only one direct flight per week to Luton in the U.K. Mallorca, on the other hand, has direct connections to 14 Spanish airports and 57 to international destinations and although Ibiza is not as well served as Palma it does have direct flights to seven national and 16 international airports (the latter in the U.K., Germany, Italy and Belgium).
A Menorcan resident wishing to travel abroad (other than Luton) during the winter months has to go via another Spanish airport, thus adding greatly to the cost of the journey. Not only that, but the cost of reaching that Spanish airport is far dearer for a Menorcan than a Mallorcan, as can be seen from the chart on the right which shows the comparative prices payable for an early-morning outbound flight on Monday 8th November and a return flight late on Sunday 14th, as quoted on the Internet last week. The prices shown are the cheapest that were available at the time, but in the first example of a return flight to Barcelona which Spanair was offering at 102.63 euros, flying with Vueling or Air Europa would have boosted the cost to 142.13 and 191.13 euros respectively, including the residents' discount.
Although, from an airline's point of view, it is obviously a question of supply and demand with Mallorca gaining from the volume of passengers and the number of companies competing for business, there seems to be a growing feeling that some Balearic residents are far more in need of the 50% travel discount than others, especially when Menorcans (and residents in Ibiza and Formentera) have to pay double, or more, the price Mallorcans pay to travel to mainland destinations or further afield.
One factor that might influence future air fares and flight frequency in the archipelago is that the Balearic Islands are to be placed on an equal footing with the Canaries, with a price freeze being imposed on airport taxes and bonuses paid to airlines which improve their passenger figures or increase the number of flights laid on compared to last year. Airlines which lay on more flights or open new routes to Menorca or Ibiza will benefit from a 50% reduction in the amount of taxes they pay.