If you are planning a last-minute air travel, either for business or due to a medical emergency, be prepared to spend up to five times more than last month.
Ticket prices are also disproportionately high for the 15-day advance booking period when 50% of aircraft seats get filled.
A multitude of factors, some old and persistent such as supply chain issues which have grounded nearly 100 aircraft with three airlines, and new ones such as the suspension of flights by Go First are responsible for sending airfares out of control as demand for travel is at its peak because of the ongoing summer vacation.
According to online travel portal Ixigo, a one-way spot fare (or ticket purchased 24 hours before departure of a flight) of ₹16,585 for a Delhi-Ahmedabad flight on May 24 was five times more expensive than that in last month when the same ticket was available for ₹3,325.
Similarly, the fare of ₹15,093 on a Delhi-Pune flight for the same travel date was three times more expensive.
A Delhi-Mumbai air ticket at ₹9,668 was 80% higher than that in April, a Delhi-Leh air ticket of ₹12,989 was 87% higher than last month. A Mumbai-Goa air ticket for May 24 at ₹5,807 was 125% higher, or more than double than that in last month.
According to another travel portal, Cleartrip, average fare for top five metros for a flight booked within 24 hours of departure was ₹8,743 and for non-metros was ₹7,218. Data from the portal show that for metros, there was a spike of 54% more than April, and for non-metros there was a spike of 42% .
Ticket prices have also shot up in the 15-day advance booking period. According to Cleartrip, fares booked in this booking window averaged around ₹6,185 and were 28% higher than those booked within the same booking period last month with an average of ₹4,817.
An airline industry veteran, who has served with multiple airlines in the ticket revenue vertical, said spot fares were aimed at corporate bookings where “travel is time sensitive but not price sensitive”.
The robust demand for travel has allowed airlines to command higher air fares. “Not only has domestic passenger traffic exceeded by 15%-20% of pre-COVID times, it has also picked up at a higher airfare,” the person said.
An improved yield, or rupees earned per paying passenger flown for every kilometre, has already allowed IndiGo to witness two of its most profitable quarters in the last financial year.
“The spot fares in May have risen significantly versus April primarily due to peak season demand and a reduction in capacity due to the grounding of Go First, thereby creating an imbalance in demand & supply,” said Gaurav Patwari, vice-president, Air Category, Cleartrip. “We expect the current scenario to continue till mid-June. Capacity ramp-up will play a significant role in rationalisation of fares,” he added.
Go First’s exit has wiped off 54 aircraft from the market, while 28 of them were already grounded because of delay by engine maker Pratt and Whitney which forced the airline to seek voluntary insolvency. This resulted in fares shooting up for certain routes where it was dominant such as Delhi- Srinagar and Delhi- Pune.
Further, nearly 70 planes between IndiGo and SpiceJet are also grounded.
