KOCHI: Many drop plans to fly home this holiday season as ticket charges soar three times, and choose to take the road instead. Bus operators also take advantage of increased demand, and raise prices of inter-state vehicles by up to 250%.
Sachin Pillai, a techie working in Bengaluru, has had to change his plans for Christmas and New Year. “Airfares have soared three times. A one-way ticket will now set you back around Rs 15,000. Three other friends also dropped plans to fly home for the holidays. We will be taking the road instead, which is much cheaper,” he said.
With Christmas and New Year falling on Monday, many working in cities such as Bengaluru and Mumbai planned to take advantage of the extended weekend to reunite with their families. However, with airfares on domestic routes hitting the roof, many have been forced to rethink plans.
Rajalakshmi Rangamma travelled from Pune by train. “My daughter and I managed to book train tickets as airfares ranged from Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000,” said Rangamma, who hails from Kochi. “It’s common practice now for airlines to hike fares during festive seasons,” she added. A one-way, economy-class ticket from Bengaluru to Kochi, which usually costs Rs 3,000-4,000, has surged to Rs 15,000. Prices on the Mumbai-Kochi route have surged to Rs 18,000, from around Rs 4,000.
However, flight tickets from Mumbai and Bengaluru to Kozhikode, which are going for Rs 8,000 around Christmas, are quoting at about Rs 5,000 for New Year. This has been the trend on this route. “It is common practice of airlines to increase airfares during the holiday seasons.
On average, airfares on almost all domestic sectors range from Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 during Christmas and New Year,” said Nitin Luke of Riya Travels. “But, fares this year have surged more than usual,” he said. He added that airlines utilise the extended weekend to charge exorbitant fares.