This summer has seen an increase in domestic airfares by 20%, however, the travellers taking trips have remained almost the same, travel portal Cleartrip said.
“Domestic Demand is the same as last year, but prices have increased by 20%. The demand of the international sector as well as the airfares are around the same as last year,” a Cleartrip spokesperson said.
The domestic airline industry is currently operating in a capacity-constrained environment, yet demand has been observed to be robust.
“Load factors and fares are high due to limited capacity expansion,” the spokesperson added.
Talking about a unique travel trend this summer, Jay Bhatia, vice president of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) said, “We are witnessing more takers in Business Class airfares from India.”
He seconded Cleartrip’s analysis and said, “Outbound airfares from India are, however, reasonably the same as per last year from India to all over, because of Vistara and Air India adding more direct international flights to Paris, Germany, Australia,” he added.
Civil aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), approved domestic weekly departures for the summer schedule in March, which was nearly 6% higher than the same period last year.
Looking at the demand in the summer peak travel, it approved 24,275 weekly domestic departures across 14 domestic airlines. It also approved 1,922 weekly international departures, marking a 5.1% year-on-year growth.
Online travel agents (OTAs) unanimously said that internationally the famous destinations for Indians are noted to be Europe, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.
Cleartrip said that domestically, the bookings show a clear preference for cooler climates like Srinagar and Bagdogra.
“Goa, Bagdogra, Srinagar, Port Blair, Varanasi in the domestic sector and Bangkok, Phuket, Singapore, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur have been on the list of travellers during the April – June quarter,” it said.
MakeMyTrip, in one of its recent surveys, stated that destinations with cool mountain terrains are the top picks this summer from a domestic holiday packages point of view. “For international travel Europe, Singapore, Thailand, Dubai, Bali are picks for the year, like last year,” it stated.
Speaking on the stability of the airfares, EaseMyTrip said that the stability is attributed to airlines maintaining similar capacity levels, which helps keep prices steady.
“However, the specific fares can vary depending on the destination and other market conditions. To secure the best prices, travellers should be flexible with their travel dates and destinations, and book well in advance,” its spokesperson said.
Omprakash Tiwary is a business writer who delves into the intricacies of the corporate world. With a focus on finance and economic landscape. He offers readers valuable insights into market trends, entrepreneurship, and economic developments.
