Fares on the weekend before Diwali have reached as high as Rs 30,000 in contrast to the usual Rs 8,500 fare on this route. Even fares for low cost carriers like IndiGo and Spicejet range between Rs 14,000 to Rs 15,000. For GoAir and Air India, the economy class fare is as high as around Rs 30,171 for economy class seat, according to travel portal Makemytrip.com.
The business class fares for Jet airways are as high as Rs 45,000. The travel portals are displaying “few available seats” even at such prices. However, the fares for Delhi to Mumbai are around Rs 8,500 as on usual weekends.
According to Jitender Bhargava, former Executive Director in Air India," This is totally unbelievable and unacceptable. It is very difficult to justify even if load factors are above 95% on the flight."
Dhawal Modi, a corporate employee based in Mumbai regrets not booking air ticket in advance for his Diwali trip to his hometown, Delhi. He says, “This is unbelievable. I think I will have to postpone my trip to Delhi”.
There are around 60 to 65 flights operating between Mumbai and Delhi.
Moreover, with Kingfisher shrinking its capacity in the skies this year,fares have jumped by around 30% as compared to last year.
