Air travel during the upcoming festive season could get costlier, with fares shooting up to Rs 20,000–30,000 on some routes. This year, Dussehra falls on October 12 followed by Diwali on October 31. Several airlines offered special deals for the festive season but that may not be enough to tackle the expected inflation in air tickets.
Despite early bookings, rates are higher this year, challenging the notion that booking early guarantees lower ticket prices.
Vistara, for example, launched its Freedom Sale on August 15 with one-way domestic fares starting at Rs 1,578 for economy, Rs 2,678 for premium economy, and Rs 9,978 for business class for travel until October 31, 2024. Air India Express launched its Flash Sale with fares starting at Rs 1,037 and no convenience fee for bookings made by August 25 for domestic travel from August 26 to October 24.
Airfares are expected to rise dramatically throughout the festive season, according to travel websites. Online travel platform Ixigo has seen a 30-35 per cent spike in advance flight bookings for Diwali and Dussehra in October and November compared to the same months last year, reported Moneycontrol.
Rajnish Kumar, group co-CEO of Ixigo, said that the average airfare to popular travel destinations such as Goa and Jaipur has climbed by 15-20 per cent over the festive season.
EaseMyTrip co-founder Rikant Pittie stated that even for those who book as far in advance as three months, airfares have increased noticeably during the Diwali week of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
“On popular domestic routes, the cost of one-way tickets has significantly risen. For example, the fare for routes like Mumbai to Patna has surged past Rs 20,000, while Bengaluru to Varanasi is approaching Rs 24,000, and Bengaluru to Patna is nearing Rs 30,000. Other key routes, including Mumbai to Lucknow and Delhi to Guwahati, are also seeing elevated prices, with fares in the upper Rs 14,000 to Rs 18,000 range,” Pittie said.
Despite early bookings, rates are higher this year, challenging the notion that booking early guarantees lower ticket prices.
To address rising airfares on specific routes for the forthcoming festive season, the government has requested airlines to explore boosting the frequency of flights on domestic routes where prices have grown by more than 20 per cent in the last year.
According to the report, airlines are expanding their inventories, which might provide some relief.
In February, a parliamentary subcommittee advocated route-specific airfare caps and the establishment of a separate institution to exercise authority. According to the Civil Aviation Ministry, the panel concluded that self-regulation of ticket rates by airline companies has been ineffective.
