MUMBAI: Domestic airfares that had cooled eight weeks ago with the onset of the lean travel season are peaking again, especially on leisure travel and religious tourism routes, before the Independence Day long weekend.August 15 is on a Tuesday this year, and with a leave taken on Monday, it is possible to have a four-day break from August 11 (Friday).
Airfares from Mumbai and Delhi to destinations such as Goa, Kochi, Agra, Madurai, Tirupati and Shirdi between August 11 and 15 are sky high.But for some destinations, such as Srinagar, for instance, the fares have remained comparatively lower but volatile as the weekend draws close.
On Wednesday morning, the cheapest 48-hour advance Mumbai-Srinagar return ticket on a non-stop flight was priced at Rs 9,500, the same as that for the busiest domestic route, Mumbai-Delhi.
By evening, it had climbed to Rs 12,500, though the Mumbai-Delhi fare stayed the same.
One of the reasons could be that airlines have added flights to Srinagar in the past two months.On a number of other routes such as Mumbai-Ranchi, Delhi-Kolkata, Mumbai-Delhi, the fares are lower than what they were last year when the government's upper and lower airfare caps were in place.Religious tourism is emerging as a big draw this I-Day weekend.
The cheapest return fares from Mumbai and Delhi to Tirupati are at Rs 18,000 and Rs 25,000, respectively.
"These are 48-hour advance purchase fares and so are expectedly high.
The passengers who booked in June-July would have got a 20-25% cheaper fare," said an official with a low-cost airline.Rikant Pittie of online travel portal EaseMyTrip said: "For August 15 travel, the average fares showed about a 20% decline from 2019.
Comparing 2022 and 2023, the fares show a substantial decrease of about 35%.
These fluctuations could be attributed to factors like varying demand, heightened competition, or fluctuations in fuel prices." But the spokesperson for Yatra said: "Our comprehensive analysis reveals a discernible year-on-year upward trajectory in airfares, with an observed increment of 10-12%."Rajesh Magow of MakeMyTrip said the top domestic destinations for people booking flights from Delhi and Mumbai are Goa and Srinagar, while people from southern metros like Bengaluru and Hyderabad have preferred Kochi, Vishakhapatnam and Coimbatore.Yatra said it has seen a surge of over 30% in both bookings and website traffic.
Average room rates per night have also risen to Rs 8,500 from Rs 7,300.
"Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru boast of the highest booking rates," said the spokesperson."When compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, an average 25% increase in hotel tariffs for 4-stars and a 30% rise for 5-star properties can be seen," said a Cleartrip spokesperson.
The top destinations going by searches are Goa, Pondicherry, New Delhi and NCR, Mumbai and Lonavala, said Agoda, an online travel agency.