Airfares increase due to higher demand before holiday season

New Delhi: Prior to the holiday season, there has been an increase in domestic aircraft traffic.

The domestic aviation industry has seen steady growth, and as of October 9, the number of daily passengers exceeded 4 lakh, according to the Civil Aviation Ministry.

Similarly, the airline's passenger load factor (PLF) has also witnessed a remarkable rise along with the restoration of domestic air traffic. Most of the airlines recorded occupancy or PLF in the range of 90 per cent as compared with nearly 80 per cent a couple of weeks ago.

"We are witnessing a surge in positive consumer sentiment and this is driving our demand for the upcoming Diwali period by 50-60 per cent Vs last year. Understandably there is a considerable surge in airfares to high-load domestic destinations compared to pre-cap removal; also supply constraints for international destinations," said a spokesperson of Thomas Cook India.

Airfares to popular routes from various hubs like Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Bengaluru are witnessing an uptick during the upcoming Diwali period as compared with the previous year.

"We have seen an increase of 50-60 per cent for Andaman, Himachal and Kashmir, 50 per cent for Goa and Kerala. Metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, etc are also witnessing surge pricing of 25-30 per cent Vs last year as India's migrant working professionals are travelling back to their hometown to celebrate Diwali with their families," he said.

Our data indicates that despite a surge in airfares coupled with visa challenges, we continue to see a strong uptick in international travel compared to pre-pandemic levels. Airfares to Australia, Europe's Switzerland, France and Spain; UK have seen a surge by 30-35 per cent for Diwali, South East Asia's Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia by 35 per cent; Vietnam and Cambodia by 40 per cent; also Dubai 35 per cent and Mauritius 15 per cent," he said.

Earlier, the Civil Aviation Ministry had removed limits imposed on domestic airfares from August 31, 2022. The decision to remove the limits was taken after an analysis of the daily demand and prices of air turbine fuel (ATF).

With inputs from IANS