India’s busiest routes see surprise dip in airfares for year-end travel

Air travel on the country’s busiest routes this year-end is likely to be easy on your pocket compared to previous years.

Airfares on major domestic routes like Delhi-Mumbai, Mumbai-Bengaluru, and Mumbai-Chennai have dropped by up to 28 per cent for the December 24-January 1 period compared to a year ago. This “adjustment” in airfares can be attributed to airlines’ efforts to rectify the missteps taken before Diwali, aviation industry officials say.

In the run-up to the festival, airlines had maintained elevated fares to safeguard their higher yields (the average revenue earned per passenger per kilometre). However, this strategy resulted in lower load factors on several routes as the date approached, forcing them to reduce spot fares around Diwali in a bid to maximise aircraft occupancy.

The situation has shifted to such an extent that Vistara on Friday initiated a three-day sale on its domestic network for tickets booked for travel between December 11 this year and September 30 next year. 

The fall in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices over the last two months has also prompted airlines to keep their fares affordable for the Christmas period. On October 1, the price of ATF in Delhi was Rs 1,18,000 per kilolitre, which came down to Rs 1,06,000 per kilolitre by December 1.

The Delhi-Mumbai route, India’s busiest, witnesses the operation of over 730 flights a week. According to information from travel portal Ixigo, the average airfare on this route for the December 24-January 1 period has experienced a year-on-year decline of 2 per cent for tickets booked 30 days prior to departure.  

The average airfare on the Mumbai-Bengaluru route for the period has dropped 24 per cent year-on-year, amounting to Rs 4,662 for tickets booked 30 days in advance of departure. 

Diwali was celebrated on November 12 this year, and Christmas is celebrated annually on December 25.

Ameya Joshi, an aviation analyst and the founder of the aviation blog ‘Network Thoughts’, told Business Standard: “November saw a considerable change in fortunes in domestic passenger numbers. The first part was low on loads as the fares were higher. Airlines introduced sale fares and dropped fares, which saw immense traction even beyond the cricket World Cup weekend, when fares had touched the roof.”

“As we near Christmas and New Year holidays, airlines are avoiding a repeat of last month and on routes where loads have not picked up, they are preferring to dilute yields to get in more passengers,” he added.

However, not all routes are witnessing a decline in airfares. Goa stands out as a popular destination for tourists eager to celebrate Christmas or the New Year. According to Ixigo, the average airfare on the Delhi-Goa route during the December 24-January 1 period has seen an year-on-year increase of 17 per cent for tickets booked 30 days before departure. Likewise, the average airfare on the Mumbai-Goa route during the period has experienced an year-on-year increase of 12 per cent.

An airline official referred to this fare increase on Goa routes as “comparatively marginal” because the typical surge on these routes during the period falls within the range of 30-70 per cent.