Air Fare Hike: There has been an increase of more than double in air fares during the festive season. From Navratri to Diwali, air fares on different routes have increased by more than 100 percent. Let us also tell you how much increase has taken place on which routes.
Air Fare Hike: Planning to fly during the festive season? So you may have to shell out more this time. According to data from travel portal Ixigo, airfares on some routes during Navratri season have doubled compared to last year. The special thing is that compared to the level of pre-Covid year 2019, there has been an increase of more than double in air fares this year.
During the second half of Navratri, the average fare for Bengaluru-Kolkata flight has increased to more than Rs 14,000 from around Rs 7,000 in the same period a year ago. Similarly, the average fare for Mumbai-Kolkata flights has increased by 55 per cent to more than Rs 12,000 during this period. The average fare of Bengaluru-Patna flight has increased by 25 percent to more than Rs 10,000.
Increase in fares even during Diwali
During Diwali, which will fall in the second week of November, there has been an increase in air fares as compared to last year. According to experts, fares on many routes have become costlier by 70 percent on the occasion of Diwali. Bengaluru-Mumbai flight is 67 percent costlier, which is around Rs 5,000. Bangalore-Lucknow fare has increased by 41 percent to more than Rs 10,000. Similarly, the fare for Chennai-Mumbai flight has increased by 56 percent during this period to more than Rs 5,600. Ease My Trip CEO and co-founder Nishant Pitti said that during the upcoming festive season, there has been an increase of 72 percent in airfares compared to last year. The highest increase is from Delhi to Ahmedabad, followed by Delhi to Srinagar route, in which an increase of 89 percent has been seen.
Increase in advance booking
There has also been an increase in advance booking this year. Data from ixigo shows that passengers are booking at least 30 days in advance for both Navratri and Diwali this year, with advance bookings 30-35 per cent higher than last year. In Ease My Trip, tickets are booked up to 80 days before the journey. According to Alok Bajpai, Co-Founder and Group CEO, ixigo, due to rising demand and limited capacity, advance booking fares for Diwali in November this year are already 35-40 per cent higher on an average than last year. We are expecting an increase in travel demand in October and November this year. The main reasons for which include the long weekend of Gandhi Jayanti, Navratri, ICC World Cup 2023 and Diwali, among other festivals.
Supply falling short of demand
India has been at the forefront in recovering from air travel after the pandemic. Due to suspension of flights by Go First and shortage of aircraft, there has been an imbalance in demand and supply, due to which there has been an increase in fares. Domestic air travel in August has increased by 5.4 percent to 12.4 million compared to the pre-Covid tenure of August 2019. Due to which the fare remains more expensive than the level of 2019. Pitti said that the biggest reason for this is less supply than demand.
