Air fares spike on Christmas eve
Travel For New Year, Pongal Holidays Also Pricey
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Chennai:24.12.2019
Air fares have increased, especially to small towns, on Christmas, New Year and Pongal as trains are fully booked. The fares from Chennai to Thiruvananthapuram, Madurai and Bengaluru are edging closer to ₹10,000 for travel on Christmas eve and are in the range of ₹6,000 to 8,000 for travel on December 30 for the New Year.
The starting fare is ₹10,000 for flights to Madurai, Kochi, Hubli and Thiruvananthapuram, while it is ₹16,000 to Tuticorin for travel on Tuesday. Similarly, the fare is in the range of ₹4,000–₹8,000 to Tuticorin, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, while it’s ₹3,000–₹6,000 to Madurai, ₹3,400–₹5,000 to Bengaluru and ₹2,300–₹4,300 to Coimbatore on December 30, when most people travel for the New Year. Though Pongal is more than 20 days away, fares to Madurai have touched ₹5,500 and to Tuticorin it’s ₹4,700.
Air travel continues to be unaffordable on festival eve due to high demand and fewer flights though the directorate general of civil aviation has issued an instruction to airlines that fares should not cross ₹10,000 on domestic routes.
This has affected lastminute travellers. The fares are high on short routes to small towns like Hubli and Tuticorin which see high demand only during festivals and holidays. An airline official said schedules are designed in such a way to capture maximum patronage. But for small towns, the load is low on regular days.
Airlines have also cut frequency to Thiruvananthapuram because of fewer passengers, the official added.
Ticket cost on some special trains with dynamic pricing has touched ₹2,000 for travel to Kerala for Christmas. Railways have been introducing special trains but since some services are not operated on convenient dates, people try to opt for flights.
Basheer Ahmed of Metro Travels said air fare is high during festivals. “It is higher than it was last year on domestic and international routes. The fares are also high as people from abroad fly domestic from gateway airports like Chennai,” he said. As a majority of people travel during these holidays, airlines are mulling discount sales to prevent a slump in traffic after January 15. IndiGo on Monday launched sale of ₹899 tickets for travel from January 15.
Travel For New Year, Pongal Holidays Also Pricey
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Chennai:24.12.2019
Air fares have increased, especially to small towns, on Christmas, New Year and Pongal as trains are fully booked. The fares from Chennai to Thiruvananthapuram, Madurai and Bengaluru are edging closer to ₹10,000 for travel on Christmas eve and are in the range of ₹6,000 to 8,000 for travel on December 30 for the New Year.
The starting fare is ₹10,000 for flights to Madurai, Kochi, Hubli and Thiruvananthapuram, while it is ₹16,000 to Tuticorin for travel on Tuesday. Similarly, the fare is in the range of ₹4,000–₹8,000 to Tuticorin, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, while it’s ₹3,000–₹6,000 to Madurai, ₹3,400–₹5,000 to Bengaluru and ₹2,300–₹4,300 to Coimbatore on December 30, when most people travel for the New Year. Though Pongal is more than 20 days away, fares to Madurai have touched ₹5,500 and to Tuticorin it’s ₹4,700.
Air travel continues to be unaffordable on festival eve due to high demand and fewer flights though the directorate general of civil aviation has issued an instruction to airlines that fares should not cross ₹10,000 on domestic routes.
This has affected lastminute travellers. The fares are high on short routes to small towns like Hubli and Tuticorin which see high demand only during festivals and holidays. An airline official said schedules are designed in such a way to capture maximum patronage. But for small towns, the load is low on regular days.
Airlines have also cut frequency to Thiruvananthapuram because of fewer passengers, the official added.
Ticket cost on some special trains with dynamic pricing has touched ₹2,000 for travel to Kerala for Christmas. Railways have been introducing special trains but since some services are not operated on convenient dates, people try to opt for flights.
Basheer Ahmed of Metro Travels said air fare is high during festivals. “It is higher than it was last year on domestic and international routes. The fares are also high as people from abroad fly domestic from gateway airports like Chennai,” he said. As a majority of people travel during these holidays, airlines are mulling discount sales to prevent a slump in traffic after January 15. IndiGo on Monday launched sale of ₹899 tickets for travel from January 15.
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