Festivals around the world are a time of going back home and being with family. With most people living away from home these days, holidays during festivals like Diwali and Onam are the only way to meet family and friends back home. However, this year, air travel in India might cost you more than you would like.
Airfares are rising for the festival season, with average one-way ticket prices on major domestic routes increasing by 10-15 per cent for Diwali and by 20-25 per cent for some flights to Kerala cities for Onam, according to a recent analysis.
Travel portal ixigo's analysis for PTI reveals that the average one-way economy fare for a non-stop flight on the Delhi-Chennai route from October 30 to November 5 is up 25 per cent to INR 7,618 compared to the same period last year. Similarly, fares for the Mumbai-Hyderabad route have risen by 21 per cent to INR 5,162, while the Delhi-Goa and Delhi-Ahmedabad routes have seen increases of 19 per cent to INR 5,999 and 14 per cent to INR 4,930, respectively. Other routes have experienced fare increases ranging from 1 per cent to 16 per cent.
ixigo's Group Co-CEO Rajnish Kumar noted that demand for Diwali travel is driving up airfares, with popular routes like Delhi-Chennai, Mumbai-Bengaluru, and Delhi-Hyderabad seeing average one-way fares between INR 4,000 and INR 5,000, marking a 10-15 per cent year-over-year increase. However, some routes have seen fare decreases of 1 per cent to 27 per cent, such as a 27 per cent drop to INR 2,508 for Mumbai-Ahmedabad and a 25 per cent decrease to INR 4,890 for Mumbai-Udaipur. Fares have also fallen by 23 per cent to INR 3,383 on the Bengaluru-Hyderabad route and by 21 per cent to INR 7,826 for Mumbai-Jammu flights.
For the upcoming Onam festival in Kerala, fares have increased by 1 per cent to 25 per cent on certain routes, while on others, they have decreased by 6 per cent to 35 per cent. This data compares average one-way fares for non-stop flights from September 6-15 this year to August 20-29, 2023. For example, the fare for the Hyderabad-Thiruvananthapuram flight has risen 30 per cent to INR 4,102, and the Mumbai-Calicut flight has seen a similar increase to INR 4,448. Rajnish Kumar mentioned that flight bookings and searches for travel to Kerala in early September have doubled compared to last year, with average airfares to cities like Cochin, Calicut, and Thiruvananthapuram up 20-25 per cent year-over-year.
Concerns about high airfares, especially during peak seasons, persist. In response, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu announced earlier this month that the ministry plans to introduce an online grievance mechanism to prevent excessive fare hikes. Currently, airfares are not regulated by the government following the repeal of the Air Corporation Act in March 1994. The ministry has advised airlines to self-regulate and exercise moderation in ticket pricing.