KOCHI: Ahead of the summer schedule and when the aircraft movement is tipped to resume to the pre-pandemic level, domestic airfares have seen a significant hike. Till last month, the airfare to Chennai from Kochi was around Rs 3,100, whereas now the price starts at Rs 4,800.
The trend is the same in the Kochi-Bengaluru sector as well. According to a senior official of an airline company, the hike in domestic airfares is the result of an increase in jet fuel prices. As a result of that, a 10-20% increase is being reflected in the pricing of tickets of all airlines as the demand is high,” he said.
Kochi airport has announced its March 27-October summer schedule this year. As per the schedule, Kochi airport will see 668 domestic aircraft movements weekly. “The aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price hike is a major factor for the fare hike. When the airlines restarted their normal operations amid the pandemic, airlines fixed their price bar at Rs 2,500 minimum for 750km. However, the Centre allowed relaxation on the fare rates as the frequency of flights was less and these were allowed to operate only with 50% capacity. The ministry then had said that once the flight operations reach up to 80% frequency, it would revise the decision,” said Biji Eapen, national president of IATA Agents Association of India.
“Travellers should look at booking tickets 10-15 days in advance to get the best possible rates in the coming days,” said Biji.
“Despite the hike in fare prices, enquiries for leisure travel have increased from last year. More demand and more aircraft movements in international and domestic sectors will help revive the tourism sector in the coming days,” said Sanjeev Kumar, CEO of Voyager Kerala, a government-approved tour operator.