Airfares jump 20-25 pc amid Vistara woes, high travel demand

NEW DELHI: Travellers will have to shell out more for domestic flights this summer season, with airfares surging 20-25 per cent amid Vistara flight cancellations and strong air travel demand, according to industry experts.

At a time when peak summer travel period is round the corner, the airline industry is grappling with challenges in scaling up capacity to match demand and are even using larger aircraft on domestic routes.

Faced with pilot woes, Vistara has cut 25-30 flights daily or 10 per cent of its total capacity, a development that comes when the country’s airline industry is already operating with reduced number of aircraft due to the bankruptcy of Go First and grounding of over 70 planes by IndiGo over engine issues.

An analysis by travel portal ixigo showed that spot fares on certain routes jumped up to 39 per cent during the April 1-7 period compared to March 1-7 period.

During the given period, the one way spot fares for Delhi-Bengaluru flights climbed 39 per cent, while it rose 30 per cent for Delhi-Srinagar flights.

The rise was 12 per cent for Delhi-Mumbai services and 8 per cent in case of Mumbai-Delhi services, as per the analysis.

Bharatt Malik, Senior VP – Air and Hotel Business at travel portal Yatra Online, said the anticipated average airfare surge in the current summer schedule, encompassing both domestic and international routes, is projected to range between 20-25 per cent.

“Vistara’s decision to reduce flights by 10 per cent has affected ticket prices on major domestic routes.

We’ve observed a significant surge in fares, with prices skyrocketing by approximately 20-25 per cent across key routes such as Delhi-Goa, Delhi-Kochi, Delhi-Jammu, and Delhi-Srinagar,” Malik said.

He also said that one of the key reasons for the higher airfares is reduction in flight operations by Vistara and added that escalating fuel costs as well as a heightened demand for summer travel has further contributed to the increase.