Airfares

Rising airfares, strong consumer demand boost profit outlook for airlines

The rising fares have bolstered the outlook for carriers on both sides of the Atlantic. Major US airlines including Delta , Alaska and United have forecast bumper profits this year

Govt asks reasonable airfares for Prayagraj, IndiGo cuts prices by 30-50%

Amid persisting concerns over exorbitant airfares for Prayagraj flights, the civil aviation ministry on Wednesday asked airlines to maintain reasonable prices, and sources said the country's largest carrier IndiGo has reduced the fares to Prayagraj in the range of 30-50 per cent. The development also comes on a day when Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said airfares for Prayagraj flights are "exorbitantly high" and urged aviation watchdog DGCA to take steps to reduce the prices. In the wake of the Kumbh Mela and resultant travel demand, airfares have surged for flights to Prayagraj and the civil aviation ministry had asked airlines to rationalise the ticket prices. On Wednesday, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, along with Secretary V Vualnam, DGCA Director General Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, and senior officials met airline representatives regarding Prayagraj flights. They reviewed the "adequacy of air connectivity to Prayagraj from across the country while maintaining ...

Pralhad Joshi urges DGCA to reduce high airfares to Prayagraj for Kumbh

Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi has written to aviation regulator DGCA seeking reduction in "exorbitant" airfares to Prayagraj, which is hosting the Maha Kumbh Mela till February 26. The minister expressed concerns over high airfares, making it difficult for devotees to travel to the religious gathering. "The prices of airfares being exorbitantly high has made it difficult for people to make travel plans to attend Maha Kumbh," Joshi said in a social media post. Earlier this month, travel portal ixigo said bookings as well as airfares for flights to Prayagraj have jumped multi-fold as more people travel for the Maha Kumbh, with the air ticket prices rising up to 21 per cent for the Delhi-Prayagraj flights. The civil aviation ministry on Monday said steps are being taken to rationalise airfares. DGCA officials held a meeting with airline representatives last week, urging them to add more flights and rationalise ticket prices. Currently, 132 flights are operating with about .

'Skyrocketing' airfare, lack of tariff regulation dominate House panel meet

Concerns over "skyrocketing" airfare and "little action" by government agencies and regulator dominated the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting on Wednesday as several MPs sought accountability from private airport operators and airlines to provide relief to passengers. PAC Chairperson K C Venugopal described the meeting of the panel, which has witnessed fiery and at times acrimonious discussion along party lines in the past, as "one of the best" sittings. Members, he said, expressed concerns that the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) "is not acting properly as a regulator". "We need clear cut answers," he told PTI after the meeting. He said the regulatory body could not answer adequately the questions raised by members. The senior Congress MP said, "Concerns were raised by members that airfare is skyrocketing, and there is no action from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) or the Civil Aviation Department." Sources said some MPs called f

Steady course: Year-end travel plans not hit yet as airfares remain stable

The fares were considered for tickets booked 30 days in advance. Goa remains one of India's most popular destinations for Christmas and New Year celebrations

Why Indian airlines can't raise fares despite soaring passenger demand

Despite soaring passenger numbers, Indian airlines can't raise fares due to fierce competition, rising costs, and price sensitivity, leaving them struggling to stay profitable

India's domestic air tariff up 43% in 5 years, just behind Vietnam

The airfare study conducted by Airports Council International (ACI), which represents 617 airports in this region, was done in partnership with Flare Aviation Consulting

Major domestic routes see up to 32% drop in spot airfares for Diwali travel

Travel associations observed that demand for flights on metro routes has eased this year compared to the previous surge, which largely met the pent-up post-pandemic travel appetite

Increase in airfare not linked to rise in airport charges, says ACI

Airport charges are an important element of the commercial aviation ecosystem for infrastructure development and increase in airfares is not linked to a rise in the charges, according to the Airports Council International (ACI). Against the backdrop of the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) flagging concerns over a steep rise in airport charges, ACI also said that the charges will remain a critical source of revenue for airports. "Airport charges are an important element of the commercial aviation ecosystem for infrastructure development. Failing to address the capital expenditure requirements to accommodate the projected growth could have serious socio-economic consequences," Stefano Baronci, Director General, ACI Asia Pacific & Middle East, said. In a statement to PTI, he noted that airports are highly infrastructure-intensive businesses, with their cost structures dominated by significant fixed costs for the operation and upkeep of essential infrastructure such

Airfares rise as competition fades on domestic routes, shows data

Competition present on only 31% of domestic routes in April 2024, data show

Hotel bookings in 'suite' spot for Independence Day long weekend

Goa has witnessed a 166 per cent spike in bookings

Sky high: Diwali airfares shoot to Rs 20K-30K on some domestic routes

Limited capacity growth, high demand pushing up ticket prices

Airfare pain eases as pricing power swings back to passengers after Covid

Passengers around the world are winning some respite from the fare madness that followed the pandemic - and further price declines are coming

Airfares can rise further while still being affordable: Akasa Air CEO

We have lots of room for airfares to grow while still being extremely affordable for the Indian consumer, he noted

Airfares to major summer destinations defy sweltering heat, stay cool

Delhi's Mungeshpur area shattered records on Wednesday, logging a scorching 52.3 degrees Celsius - the highest temperature ever recorded in the city

'Domestic airfares on northward trajectory; still among lowest globally'

Domestic airfares are sailing northwards, surging up to 40 per cent in key routes on higher traffic and capacity constraints in the last six quarters. Still, ticket prices are among the lowest in the world, according to experts. India is one of the world's fastest growing civil aviation markets and on average, 4.5 lakh passengers travel on domestic flights daily. While only a small percentage of the country's population travels by air, capacity constraints are a key challenge as many aircraft are grounded mainly due to supply chain issues. Aviation consultancy firm CAPA India said that average fares on the top 20 domestic routes had not moved significantly in nominal terms for the last two decades, until the last six quarters during which they have been up by close to 40 per cent. The routes include Mumbai-Delhi, Bengaluru-Delhi, Bengaluru-Mumbai and Delhi-Hyderabad. The trend has been driven by serious capacity shortages with an average of 150 aircraft on the ground due to supply

High airfares remain a challenge: Thomas Cook India's Madhavan Menon

High airfares remain a challenge that impacts India's leisure and business travellers, Thomas Cook India's Executive Chairman Madhavan Menon said. In an interview with PTI, he shared that airline capacity too continues to be a challenge despite an increase in scheduled flights. "We hope to see the demand-supply constraints ease a bit with new aircraft being introduced into the network, but this will be over the long term," Menon said. On the company's expansion plans, he informed that Thomas Cook India is working on expanding and strengthening its physical network with a combination of owned and franchise outlets and accelerating its digital footprint in the country. "With a focus on viable source markets, we continue our retail expansion with a combination of owned and franchise outlets, across metros/mini-metros and regional India. "Additionally, for our foreign exchange business, we have leveraged existing franchise outlets to set up foreign exchange counters within the same ..

Summer airfares on major domestic routes increase by 13%, shows data

However, the data also shows that summer airfares on key routes such as Delhi-Leh and Delhi-Kolkata have significantly decreased due to the introduction of new flights

As Vistara scales down operations, fares rise by up to 25% on major routes

While Vistara has not specified the duration of the capacity cut, it will likely remain in effect until at least the end of April, keeping fares high on affected routes during this period

Airlines cancel 12 Mumbai routes due to congestion; airfares rise 193%

IndiGo, India's largest carrier, has been the most severely affected by the congestion-induced cancellations