Sky high: Flying during Diwali likely to cost 20-30% more this year

While ATF price has jumped 83% in Sept on a YoY basis, capacity deployed by airlines has also increased. Airlines flew 37% more flights and carried 50% more passengers last month compared to Aug '21

You may have to shell out 20-30 per cent more compared to last year if you plan to take a flight during this Diwali. The hike in prices comes on the back of strong demand and increase in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price.

“Flight searches have risen by 25-30 per cent for leisure travel for the Dussehra and Diwali week as compared to last year. With international travel fully open for tourists this year and fewer entry requirements for vaccinated travellers, we can expect festive travel demand surges similar to pre-pandemic levels,” said Rajnish Kumar, co-founder, ixigo.

According to the data compiled by online travel portal ixigo, average airfares have risen by 20-33 per cent on metro routes such as Mumbai-Delhi, Bengaluru-Delhi and Hyderabad-Delhi. 

On the Delhi-Hyderabad route, airfare is up 3 per cent compared to last year. However, on routes like Kolkata-Delhi, Kolkata-Mumbai, Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Bengaluru fares are lower by 2-7 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis.

While ATF price has jumped 83 per cent in September on a YoY basis, capacity deployed by airlines has also increased. Airlines flew 37 per cent more flights and carried 50 per cent more passengers last month compared to August 2021.

“The festive travel market is expected to grow by 35 per cent YoY. The uptick witnessed during the Independence Day and Ganesh Chaturthi holidays is a clear indication of the pent-up demand we expect to see during the festive season. 

Mumbai, Goa, and Jaisalmer have seen the maximum booking share (more than 40 per cent of hotel bookings) within India during Dussehra and Diwali. Singapore, Dubai, and Pattaya (Thailand) have the maximum share (38 per cent of hotel bookings) internationally during this period,” said a Cleartrip spokesperson.

“We have witnessed an increase of around 5-7 per cent in demand and booking inquiries for the upcoming festive season compared to 2021. We are optimistic that the festive season along with the high volume of pent up travel demand will propel further growth of the industry,” said Bharatt Malik, senior vice president (Flights), Yatra.com.