Traveling by air during Diwali this year will be more affordable compared to last year.
This is because airfares on many domestic routes have dropped by 20-25%.
The main reasons for the reduction are increased flight capacity and a recent decrease in oil prices, which have contributed to the lower ticket prices.
According to a study by travel website ixigo, airfares on domestic routes are down by 20-25%. These are one-way fares based on bookings made 30 days in advance.
In 2023, this booking period was from November 10-16, while this year it is from October 28 to November 3, which is around the time of Diwali.
Biggest Drops in Airfare on Key Routes
The biggest decrease in airfare has been seen on the Bengaluru-Kolkata route, where prices have dropped from Rs 10,195 last year to Rs 6,319 this year.
The Chennai-Kolkata route also saw a 36% drop, with fares going down from Rs 8,725 to Rs 5,604.
On the Mumbai-Delhi route, prices fell by 34%, now costing Rs 5,762 instead of Rs 8,788.
Similarly, flights from Delhi to Udaipur saw a 34% drop, with fares decreasing from Rs 11,296 to Rs 7,469.
Other routes, such as Delhi-Kolkata, Hyderabad-Delhi, and Delhi-Srinagar, also saw price drops of around 32%.
Last year, prices surged due to limited flight capacity, mainly because Go First airline suspended its operations.
Oil Prices Help Lower Fares, But Some Routes See Increases
Another important reason for the drop in fares is the 15% decrease in oil prices this year, which has allowed airlines to offer cheaper tickets during the festive season.
owever, due to rising geopolitical tensions, oil prices have started to climb again. This has led to an increase in airfares on some routes.
For example, the Ahmedabad-Delhi route has seen a 34% increase, with ticket prices rising from Rs 6,533 to Rs 8,758.
Similarly, on the Mumbai-Dehradun route, fares have increased by 33%, from Rs 11,710 to Rs 15,527.
