A ticket to Mumbai has become as much of a gamble for the cricket fan as a ticket to Wankhede on Thursday.
Businessman Kushal Patel and three friends are booked on an IndiGo flight to Mumbai on Wednesday, even though the trio weren't sure of getting tickets to the officially sold-out India-West Indies semi-final until late on Tuesday.
"We booked the airline tickets immediately after India's victory against Australia on Sunday because we knew airfares would shoot up. A lot of fans would like to go to Mumbai and demand would obviously be high," said Kushal, who will be travelling with friends Chirag Vyas, Suraj Juneja and Chirag Shah.
The group of four plan to stay at a friend's house in Mumbai and return on Friday to "prepare for the final", if India gets past the West Indies of course. "If we don't get tickets to the match, there is the option of cancelling our flight tickets," Kushal said.
Calcutta-Mumbai airfares have increased by 30 per cent for flights scheduled between Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. Last-minute bookings leading up to the big match are likely to raise fares even higher, airline officials said.
Like Kushal and his friends, many Calcuttans do not have tickets to the second semi-final of the World T20 but are booked on flights to avoid paying a premium later.
30/03/16 Sanjay Mandal and Subhankar Chowdhury/Telegraph
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Businessman Kushal Patel and three friends are booked on an IndiGo flight to Mumbai on Wednesday, even though the trio weren't sure of getting tickets to the officially sold-out India-West Indies semi-final until late on Tuesday.
"We booked the airline tickets immediately after India's victory against Australia on Sunday because we knew airfares would shoot up. A lot of fans would like to go to Mumbai and demand would obviously be high," said Kushal, who will be travelling with friends Chirag Vyas, Suraj Juneja and Chirag Shah.
The group of four plan to stay at a friend's house in Mumbai and return on Friday to "prepare for the final", if India gets past the West Indies of course. "If we don't get tickets to the match, there is the option of cancelling our flight tickets," Kushal said.
Calcutta-Mumbai airfares have increased by 30 per cent for flights scheduled between Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. Last-minute bookings leading up to the big match are likely to raise fares even higher, airline officials said.
Like Kushal and his friends, many Calcuttans do not have tickets to the second semi-final of the World T20 but are booked on flights to avoid paying a premium later.
30/03/16 Sanjay Mandal and Subhankar Chowdhury/Telegraph
