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Airfares to popular destinations such as the Indian subcontinent, the UK, the GCC and Egypt are set to rise further in the coming months ahead of the summer holidays.
Travel executives noted that airfares to Asia, the Middle East and the UK started to rise from February to March as people now plan their holidays in advance.
They point out that fares to popular cities such as London double during the peak summer travel season, especially during Eid al-Adha, which is celebrated at the end of June.
Inbound and outbound travel and tourism to the UAE has grown exponentially over the past year, with residents looking to travel more, but airlines still face capacity constraints.
Air India has added some flights on Emirates routes during the summer, offering temporary stability on certain days.
Schools are closed during the summer holidays, causing airfares to skyrocket. During the summer holidays, Indian curriculum schools are usually closed in the first week of July. As Eid is likely to take place on June 28, some schools may choose to close a week or so earlier. UK schools close from June until the last week of August or the first week of September.
According to Sunil Panwar, director of business development at Rayna Tourism, ticket prices for different airlines have increased by as much as 40%.
“This is a time of high demand, so prices have risen mainly on routes to India, Pakistan, Egypt and the UK. Airfares to short-haul destinations frequented by residents have also seen a spike,” he said.
Over the past few years, short-haul destinations such as Eastern Europe and the CIS countries have been at the top of the travel and tourism needs of UAE residents.
Citing an example, he said airfares on low-cost airlines to India are usually around Dh1,200 but have reached Dh1,800-2,000 in summer. While airfares for established airlines have risen from Dh2,500 to Dh3,300.
“Flights to London double during the school summer holidays,” Panwar added.
Musafir.com chief operating officer Raheesh Babu said early bookings on Indian subcontinent and European routes started to pick up from February to March as Eid al-Fitr also dropped at the start of the holidays, hence schools may close early this year .
“Prices have increased in all destinations. For example, the average exchange rate in February-March was Dh1,500 and now it is Dh2,500. In some cases, it has also doubled.”
He noted that freight rates are rising as airlines are taking advantage of the seasonality as there are no extra seat allocations in summer, and traffic to South India has increased due to the Onam festival in August. “So prices are high until the first week of September.”
Babu added that interest rates are currently stable and are expected to start rising after mid-June.
“Even airfares in the Middle East such as GCC countries, Jordan and Egypt have seen price increases,” he added.
Avinash Adnani, managing director of Pluto Travels, said airfares to India are currently stable as the airline adds more flights.
“Flights are relatively cheap from July 20 to return before August 5. But after August 15 to September 5 they are much more expensive as people return to the UAE.”
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