Chaos on the Delhi-Mumbai sector
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Maintenance at Mumbai and teething problems in Delhi have left the Delhi-Mumbai sector in a state of disarray as capacity falls, demand accelerates and prices rocket. Air passengers planning to fly from Delhi to Mumbai at short notice should be ready to shell out more than normal for a return ticket to Dubai or Bangkok. Last week, passengers buying tickets on the date of travel or a day or two earlier on this sector saw one-way fares on full service carriers skyrocket to INR16,000-20,000 in economy, and INR20,000-35,000 for business class. While airfares across the domestic network are 15-25% higher this peak travel season, the Delhi-Mumbai sector has seen a 200-300% jump thanks to a number of factors plaguing the two airports that together account for almost 70% of all domestic flights. A report from Travel Chacha found that’s tickets with LCCs were only marginally cheaper than full service fares, with prices as high as INR22,000 one-way. Only tickets being bought at least three to four days before travel date on this sector begin at a slightly more normal rate of INR6,000, but with only a few seats available they sell out fast. Part of the problem is the closure of Mumbai airport’s runway which is under maintenance, and this has resulted in a massive drop in capacity. Airlines are short of 83 slots, triggering an imbalance in supply and demand which has resulted in price hikes. In Delhi meanwhile, T3 flights are proving an unpopular choice for travellers because of baggage delays and long walking distances of up to 1.5km. As a result, passengers prefer to fly with IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir rather than T3 base carriers, Air India, Kingfisher and Jet Airways. “There’s a sudden rush for IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir that operate from 1D (that’s on IGI’s domestic side), which is also closer to the city. Seats are simply not available on sectors like Delhi-Mumbai and we keep seeing economy fares crossing INR20,000 even in the LCCs,” said Anil Kalsi, head of Travel Agent Federation of India. Ankur Bhatia, Head Of Online Ticket Sales at technology provider Bird Group said; “We have never seen such a demand but there are no slots available in Mumbai to add flights.”
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