August rush: Airfares jump by 46% as long holiday week drives demand

Industry sources state that a significant number of planes in India continue to be grounded due to engine issues, supply chain problems, or financial difficulties

The average economy-class fare on major routes in the country around the long Rakshabandhan weekend in August has jumped by up to 46 per cent amid high demand.

The long weekend falls between August 15 and 19, with Independence Day on Thursday (August 15) and Rakshabandhan on Monday (August 19).

According to Ixigo’s data, reviewed by Business Standard, the average fare for the Bengaluru-Kochi route is Rs 3,446 for the August 14-20 period, and it is 46.3 per cent higher than the corresponding period last year. The average fare for the Bengaluru-Mumbai route is Rs 3,969 for the August 14-20 period -- 37.6 per cent higher than in the corresponding period last year.

 

Industry sources say a significant number of planes in India continue to be grounded due to engine issues, supply-chain problems, or financial difficulties.

IndiGo, India’s largest carrier, said on Friday about 70 of its 382 planes were grounded.

Therefore, the number of flights has not increased at a fast rate, leading to a lack of capacity growth on various major routes.

For example, the number of flights per week on the Bengaluru-Kochi route in August this year is almost the same as last year. Similarly, the number of weekly flights on the Bengaluru-Mumbai route has reduced by 4.8 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to 472 in August, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

“Long weekends tend to attract higher air fares ... The capacity increase has been limited in Indian skies and such long weekends lead to specific sectors seeing a sudden spurt, which is beyond the capacity added by airlines,” Ameya Joshi, an aviation researcher and founder of the aviation blog “Network Thoughts”, told Business Standard.

The number of flights between Delhi and Pune has remained at about 160 per week and has not increased between August last year and this year, according to Cirium.

The average fare for the Delhi-Pune route was Rs 5,257 for the August 14-20 period -- 22.6 per cent higher than in the corresponding period last year.

Jyoti Mayal, president of the Travel Agents Association of India, told Business Standard as the demand was growing, Indian carriers were finding it hard to get enough planes to accommodate the travellers’ rush.

“The industry is facing serious challenges in scaling up capacity to match the demand. The airfare for flights operating between Udaipur and major cities such as Delhi, Jaipur, and Mumbai has seen a notable increase and on the occasion of Rakshabandhan, the flight fares have nearly doubled,” she noted.

“Travel sentiment for this period is highly positive-with bookings for the upcoming long-weekend surpassing bookings made during the long-weekend around Good Friday, this year. This environment deprives travellers too, making it unaffordable,” she said.

Fares on major routes have increased for Rakshabandhan long weekend this year

Routes	Average economy class fare for departure on August 14-20, 2023 (in Rs)	Average economy class fare for departure on August 14-20, 2024 (in Rs)	Increase/decrease (in %)
Bengaluru-Kochi	2355	3446	46.30%
Bengaluru-Mumbai	2884	3969	37.60%
Delhi-Goa	4840	6641	37.20%
Delhi-Pune	4289	5257	22.60%
Bengaluru-Hyderabad	2616	3063	17.10%
Mumbai-Hyderabad	3203	3508	9.50%
Delhi-Leh	4540	4929	8.60%
Mumbai-Kochi	4269	4511	5.70%

Note: This data is for tickets purchased 30 days in advance.
Source: Ixigo