Travelling by air this weekend? Prepare to shell out more.
₹5,200, a jump of 23% from a year earlier. Similarly, a Bengaluru-Kochi ticket now costs around ₹3,500, a 46% spike from a year ago. While air traffic slowed in July on account of monsoon, travel picked up in August.
Latest data from the civil aviation ministry shows that 451,567 passengers took 3,029 flights on 11 August, around 7% above the average daily count in July. Industry executives said delayed aircraft deliveries and shortage of spare parts means capacity hasn’t kept pace with demand, driving fares higher during the peak travel seasons. Improved pricing power has resulted in better yield -- or revenue earned per paying passenger flown per kilometre -- for airlines compared to the pre-covid levels, ratings agency ICRA said, while maintaining a stable outlook for the Indian aviation industry.
Indians are not just planning domestic travel during the long weekend. Indian expats are using the opportunity to create extended breaks of three to five days to travel home and celebrate with their families, said Indiver Rastogi, president & group head, global business travel, Thomas Cook (India) and SOTC Travel. “This is noticeable given the uptick from metros to tier 2-3 airports." Booking.com said Indians are also considering international destinations for the long weekend.
According to the portal’s data, while 65% of Indian travellers are seeking short domestic trips, nearly half (44%) plan to fly abroad over the four days. “Destinations such as Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are witnessing a 30-70% year-on-year growth," said Santosh Kumar, country manager for India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia at Booking.com. For Thomas Cook, flight searches are on the rise for Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam,
. Read more on livemint.com
