CHENNAI: Airfares for a week's advance booking have dipped considerably, making flights more preferable than taking a train to smaller cities like Madurai, Coimbatore, Tuticorin and Coimbatore. Flight tickets are now only 50% higher than train fare for AC II tier.
Airfares dropped soon after the ministry of civil aviation brought out a draft policy suggesting a 2,500 cap on fares for regional routes. The fall is likely to affect the railways' patronage as Southern Railway revenues come mostly from passengers on short routes.
A Chennai-Madurai air ticket is available for 1,800 and a Chennai-Coimbatore ticket is selling for 2,010 to 2,080. This works out to be 1,000 more than the AC II tier fare on trains, which travellers say is well worth the convenience of travelling by air. An air ticket to Tuticorin booked a week in advance costs around 2,700, while AC II tier train fare to the same destination costs 1,420.
Metro Travels managing director Basheer Ahmed said November is lean season for air travel because people make fewer official trips.
06/11/15 V Ayyappan/The Times Of India
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Airfares dropped soon after the ministry of civil aviation brought out a draft policy suggesting a 2,500 cap on fares for regional routes. The fall is likely to affect the railways' patronage as Southern Railway revenues come mostly from passengers on short routes.
A Chennai-Madurai air ticket is available for 1,800 and a Chennai-Coimbatore ticket is selling for 2,010 to 2,080. This works out to be 1,000 more than the AC II tier fare on trains, which travellers say is well worth the convenience of travelling by air. An air ticket to Tuticorin booked a week in advance costs around 2,700, while AC II tier train fare to the same destination costs 1,420.
Metro Travels managing director Basheer Ahmed said November is lean season for air travel because people make fewer official trips.
06/11/15 V Ayyappan/The Times Of India
