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UAE – Airfares on the UAE-India route are set to surge by around 300% during the peak summer season as the national carrier canceled some flights on the busy route last month.
Travel agents say the situation is exacerbated by airlines deploying smaller planes on routes, leading to higher ticket prices.
They called on the Indian government to increase capacity on the UAE-India route as the South Asian country is witnessing a massive increase in outbound traffic, which is a priority.
Starting March 25, Tata Group, which owns Air India and Air India Express, has started canceling and rescheduling flights from the UAE to various cities including Kozhikode, Indore and Goa.
Tata Group, which took over Air India in January 2022 after winning a $2.17 billion bid, has decided to reroute routes that are commercially viable for the new owner. Air India last month announced a plan to buy 220 planes from Boeing and 250 from Airbus worth $70 billion to upgrade its fleet and target long-haul routes.
TP Sudheesh, managing director of Deira Travels, said the decision to cancel flights and deploy smaller aircraft had negatively impacted travelers in the form of higher fares, especially those flying to the southern Indian state of Kerala.
“Actually, the flights were full and then they canceled Air India flights, especially from Dubai and Sharjah to Calicut. So the cost of travel went up because there were fewer passengers on the seats. The Cochin route was also affected. impact, because earlier, [the] The Dreamliner, the larger aircraft, is deployed, and now the smaller aircraft are deployed,” he said.
Air ticket prices increased by up to 300%
Compared with the seasonally low prices, airfares typically increase by 100% to 300% during the peak summer season, he said.
“[The] The Indian government should approve foreign or Indian airlines to operate additional flights. Many foreign airlines are already ready to operate on Indian routes, so now is the time for the Indian government to act aggressively to meet the demand. “
Avinash Adnani, managing director of Pluto Travels, said larger aircraft such as the Dreamliner were deployed on some routes such as Goa, and it has now been replaced by smaller low-cost carrier AI Express jet. The replacement of the aircraft has led to a further tightening of seat capacity on Indian routes.
“This has resulted in lower capacity and therefore higher airfares. If there is no increase in seat capacity before the summer, as passenger traffic from India will soar this year compared to last year, airfares will increase by 25% from current levels,” he said, adding that Adding that unless airlines increase flight frequency, air ticket prices will remain high in the near future.
The UAE-India route is one of the busiest corridors due to the large number of Indian residents living and working in the UAE. Recently, Abu Dhabi Air Arabia launched direct flights to Kolkata, while Etihad Airways restarted daily flights to the West Bengal capital. India’s Indigo also launched Sharjah-Bhubaneswar in early March as demand grew exponentially in the post-pandemic period.
Passenger traffic increased by more than 20%
“Compared to last year, passenger demand is expected to increase by more than 20% this year. Now, ‘Ramadan in Dubai’ is being heavily promoted, so even during Ramadan, which is usually low season, there are many tourists from India coming. From next month First, there will be holidays in India, followed by school holidays in the UAE. Therefore, we expect airfares to increase by 25 percent,” added Adnani.
“Even now, the airfare to Delhi and other big cities in July is around Dh1,500-Dh1,800, and if you book now, it will go up to more than Dh2,500 in July. If not earlier Book, these will surely touch Dh3,000.”
TP Sudheesh said there have been some changes – for example, cargo capacity has been reduced as low-cost airlines do not have business class. Right now, people cannot book and reserve seats on low-cost airlines on short notice; instead, they have to buy them immediately.
“You can’t book in budget airlines. So with the introduction of budget airlines, those perks don’t exist anymore. If you’re delayed, then you’ll have to pay a higher fare,” adds Sudheesh.
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