Air fares soar as IndiGo cancels flights
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Chennai:17/02/2019
Air fares to most domestic destinations from Chennai remain high as Indi-Go is cancelling flights daily. Though the number of flights cancelled is fewer in Chennai, some of the cancelled schedules include red eye flights and peak hour services to small towns. The airline is expected to cancel flights daily at least till the end of next month.
Travel and tour operators say that air fares have increased by as much as 30% on most of the routes, especially on morning peak hour flights to small towns. The airline had cancelled its flights from Chennai to Thiruvananthapuram and Coimbatore last week.
Seats for Chennai-Mumbai flights for the coming week are now selling at ₹7,900 while the tickets were originally priced between ₹4,200 and ₹5,900. The last-minute fare on the Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram route was between ₹5,300 and ₹6,500.
The fares have increased because the airline has the most number of slots during peak hours and also connecting small towns, as part of its push to have more flights on regional routes.
Aloke Bajpai, CEO and cofounder of Ixigo, said several factors like runway repairs at Mumbai airport and cancellation of flights by Indigo airlines had a ripple impact on the last-minute airfares. “Flight fares for major domestic sectors have seen an average increase of 20%-25%. Our ‘fare intelligence’ feature shows that prices for routes like Kolkat-Bangalore, Kolkata-Chennai and Hyderabad-Kolkata are likely to increase further by 12%-15% over the next 15 days. On the other hand, fares for routes like Kolkata-Delhi and Ahmedabad-Bangalore are likely to fall by the same rate if booked after 10 days.”
Neelu Singh, CEO and MD of Ezeego1, said that the he huge cancellation had taken people by surprise as it had affected their holiday plans. “Now is the time people book for their summer vacations and they are unsure whether airlines will honour their flight schedules.”
Indigo is offering free cancellation of tickets and reallocation of flights when a flight is cancelled. However, the airline is not able to allot seats on flights.
The airline recently reallotted seats for passengers of a red-eye flight to Thiruvananthapuram on a flight that was to depart at 11am the next day. Many refused it because they had to be in the city earlier, said an airport official.
According to John Nair, head, business travel, Cox & Kings, “In the last week, there have been cancellations across airlines and this has led to over 30% increase in airfares. Airlines, which have cancelled flights are accommodating their customers on their flights itself but new bookings are being sold at a huge premium.”
PRICES TAKE FLIGHT:Indigo is offering free cancellation of tickets and reallocation of flights when a flight is cancelled. However, it is not able to allot seats on flights, making passengers uncomfortable
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Chennai:17/02/2019
Air fares to most domestic destinations from Chennai remain high as Indi-Go is cancelling flights daily. Though the number of flights cancelled is fewer in Chennai, some of the cancelled schedules include red eye flights and peak hour services to small towns. The airline is expected to cancel flights daily at least till the end of next month.
Travel and tour operators say that air fares have increased by as much as 30% on most of the routes, especially on morning peak hour flights to small towns. The airline had cancelled its flights from Chennai to Thiruvananthapuram and Coimbatore last week.
Seats for Chennai-Mumbai flights for the coming week are now selling at ₹7,900 while the tickets were originally priced between ₹4,200 and ₹5,900. The last-minute fare on the Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram route was between ₹5,300 and ₹6,500.
The fares have increased because the airline has the most number of slots during peak hours and also connecting small towns, as part of its push to have more flights on regional routes.
Aloke Bajpai, CEO and cofounder of Ixigo, said several factors like runway repairs at Mumbai airport and cancellation of flights by Indigo airlines had a ripple impact on the last-minute airfares. “Flight fares for major domestic sectors have seen an average increase of 20%-25%. Our ‘fare intelligence’ feature shows that prices for routes like Kolkat-Bangalore, Kolkata-Chennai and Hyderabad-Kolkata are likely to increase further by 12%-15% over the next 15 days. On the other hand, fares for routes like Kolkata-Delhi and Ahmedabad-Bangalore are likely to fall by the same rate if booked after 10 days.”
Neelu Singh, CEO and MD of Ezeego1, said that the he huge cancellation had taken people by surprise as it had affected their holiday plans. “Now is the time people book for their summer vacations and they are unsure whether airlines will honour their flight schedules.”
Indigo is offering free cancellation of tickets and reallocation of flights when a flight is cancelled. However, the airline is not able to allot seats on flights.
The airline recently reallotted seats for passengers of a red-eye flight to Thiruvananthapuram on a flight that was to depart at 11am the next day. Many refused it because they had to be in the city earlier, said an airport official.
According to John Nair, head, business travel, Cox & Kings, “In the last week, there have been cancellations across airlines and this has led to over 30% increase in airfares. Airlines, which have cancelled flights are accommodating their customers on their flights itself but new bookings are being sold at a huge premium.”
PRICES TAKE FLIGHT:Indigo is offering free cancellation of tickets and reallocation of flights when a flight is cancelled. However, it is not able to allot seats on flights, making passengers uncomfortable
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