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For instance, a one-way flight between Hyderabad and Lucknow, which typically costs no more than 6,000, is now priced between 14,000 and 19,000 for dates falling between Oct 25-29.
A quick check of online ticketing portals reveals that cost of flying to the Pink City, another favourite, has also seen a steep hike. Earlier, passengers used to pay around 5,300 for a ticket, but now prices have skyrocketed to nearly 10,000. The airfare between Hyderabad and New Delhi has seen a 80% jump, with prices rising from less than 4,000 to 7,200 for a regular ticket. “I was surprised at the cost of a flight ticket from Hyderabad to Nagpur, which had risen by 3,000 nearly one and a half months before my planned travel date. Last year, I made a last-minute booking just days before the festival, paying 10,000. This time, I decided to book much earlier. However, airfares are very high already,” said Mahek Agarwal, a legal advisor in a private company. “I had to pay 14,500 for an air ticket from Hyderabad to Lucknow on October 26. This is a significant increase from the usual fare of 5,500. Due to unavailability of seats on trains, I had no choice,” said Kamalesh Yadav, who works in an advertisement agency in Madhapur. Travelling agents say that passengers are reserving their seats well ahead of time, anticipating prices will continue to rise as the holiday nears. This trend is particularly noticeable among students in Hyderabad and plan to visit their families in the north-eastern region, they said. Nagesh Pampati, MD, Pampati Aeroworld Holidays, said, “Airlines are strategically raising their fares to cash in on profits. In fact, many travellers feel that the companies are taking advantage of the situation by deliberately inflating prices.” We also published the following articles recently Diwali air fares up to 3 times higher than usual Indias air travel safety record significantly improved last year: DGCA AAP, BJP at loggerheads over increased onion prices in Delhi |
