Air fares halve as demand slows during shradh fortnight

This year the Pitru Paksha fortnight runs from September 9-24 and will end with the start of Navratri

Demand for consumer goods usually drops in the pitru paksha (shradh) fortnight when Hindus remember their dead ancestors. This year, even airlines are facing sluggish demand and fares on busy metro routes have halved, according to airline sources.

Shradh is observed for 15 days till Navratri. This year the shradh fortnight is from September 9 to September 24.

Online portals reveal one-way fares on busy routes like Mumbai-Delhi and Mumbai-Bangalore for next-day travel have dropped below Rs 5,000 and Rs 3,000, respectively, almost half of last year's rates.

<b>Competition hots up on Mumbai-Dubai route</b>

Competition has intensified on the busy Mumbai-Dubai route with Jet Airways and flydubai adding flights from October-end.

While Jet Airways is adding its fifth daily flight on the route, flydubai is launching its service to Mumbai.

Emirates is the market leader on the route and flies five daily flights between the two cities. Emirates flies 185 flights a week to ten Indian destinations. Earlier, in March, India and Dubai revised the bilateral pact allowing airlines to have 11,000 additional seats between India and Dubai in a phased manner. Emirates also launched its Airbus A380 service between Dubai-Mumbai following the revision of the pact.