The top private airlines in the country have taken a big beating in the past two months, with over 80 flights grounded due to factors ranging from pilot shortage to safety concerns and non-payment of dues. In the bargain, flights had suddenly become a lot more expensive.
Last-minute airfares had spiked by up to 200% on some key routes while same day fares jumped by up to 50%.
"February and March have seen high airfares, with an average increase of 35-40% on airfares across key sectors. The partial closure of Mumbai and Bengaluru airports and daily cancellations and grounding of planes by airlines led to a 5% decrease in seat capacity," Aloke Bajpai, CEO and co-founder of ixigo, a travel website, told The Hindustan Times.
But things reportedly are poised for a turnaround, just in time for the upcoming summer holidays, a peak travel season in the country. To begin with, Jet Airways' management on Tuesday informed the Civil Aviation Ministry that it would not ground any more aircraft and would fly 40 more aircraft by end-April. Currently, the ailing airline is flying only 35 aircraft, so by May around 80% of Jet's fleet will be operational again.
According to Jet Airways executives, operations to Bhuj, Mangalore, Bhopal and Aurangabad, which were completely shut following the grounding of aircraft, will resume from March 31, and the currently curtailed frequency of flights to metro cities will also see an increase.
28/03/19 Business Today
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Last-minute airfares had spiked by up to 200% on some key routes while same day fares jumped by up to 50%.
"February and March have seen high airfares, with an average increase of 35-40% on airfares across key sectors. The partial closure of Mumbai and Bengaluru airports and daily cancellations and grounding of planes by airlines led to a 5% decrease in seat capacity," Aloke Bajpai, CEO and co-founder of ixigo, a travel website, told The Hindustan Times.
But things reportedly are poised for a turnaround, just in time for the upcoming summer holidays, a peak travel season in the country. To begin with, Jet Airways' management on Tuesday informed the Civil Aviation Ministry that it would not ground any more aircraft and would fly 40 more aircraft by end-April. Currently, the ailing airline is flying only 35 aircraft, so by May around 80% of Jet's fleet will be operational again.
According to Jet Airways executives, operations to Bhuj, Mangalore, Bhopal and Aurangabad, which were completely shut following the grounding of aircraft, will resume from March 31, and the currently curtailed frequency of flights to metro cities will also see an increase.
28/03/19 Business Today
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