The prices for 24-hour advance purchase domestic airfares for flights departing from Delhi are rising significantly.
This trend is not unique to Delhi but also applies to Mumbai and other cities.
For example, the cheapest 24-hour advance purchase ticket from Mumbai to Leh is priced at Rs 22,500, and to Kochi, it’s Rs 20,000.
Surprisingly, the conventionally expensive eastern and north-eastern destinations have lower fares, such as Mumbai-Kolkata at Rs 7,200 and Bagdogra at Rs 8,300.
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The fare from Mumbai to Delhi is exceptionally low at Rs 4,700.
While it’s expected for one-day advance fares to be expensive, a notable increase is observed for non-stop flights on specific routes.
This price surge is primarily a result of imbalanced demand and supply caused by the absence of GoFirst.
The airline, which ceased operations in early May, had been approved to operate 1,538 weekly flights between April and October.
Additionally, there is an increase in demand as vacationers return for the school reopening at the end of May and early June.
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This surge in demand is the first of its kind since the pandemic.
Jitender Bhargava, former executive director of Air India, emphasized that fewer flights lead to higher load factors for airlines, which in turn drive up fares.
He suggested that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) should require airlines to maximize their capacity deployment.
Bhargava pointed out that four airlines had reduced their capacity in the summer schedule.
Considering the market’s growth, DGCA should insist that airlines operate the number of flights they committed to in their proposals.
Passengers have expressed their frustration on social media platforms.
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One passenger, Shruti Chaturvedi, tweeted about paying Rs 21,000 for a one-way seat on a Delhi to Ahmedabad flight, while another passenger, Rohit Varma, mentioned paying Rs 20,000 for a one-way ticket from Delhi to Bengaluru.
The only solution seems to be booking flights early. However, the benefits of longer planning are currently not significant.
The price difference between a seven-day advance purchase fare and a 30-day advance purchase fare is not substantial enough to incentivize early bookings.
For example, for travel between June 8th and 11th, the cheapest non-stop Mumbai-Delhi return fare is priced at Rs 11,500, whereas for July 6th to 9th, it’s Rs 10,000.
