Spot airfares skyrocket as GoFirst departs

GoFirst, an airline backed by the Wadia Group, suspended flight operations on 2 May after filing for bankruptcy protection. The airline canceled flights till May 12 and closed bookings till May 15.

With a 6.9% share of India’s domestic aviation market as of March, GoFirst carried nearly 900,000 passengers during the month, or nearly 30,000 daily commuters who are now stranded due to the suspension of operations and need alternative routes to complete their journeys. May have to search for flights. travel.

Data from travel website Ixigo shows that last minute fares on the Delhi-Leh route are almost costlier now. 29,000, almost five times the cost of spot booking a week ago 6,000. Similarly, Delhi-Srinagar flights are now three times more expensive, costing approx compared to 27,000 9,000 a week ago.

Spot airfares for flights on routes where GoFirst has a strong presence like Mumbai-Goa have almost more than doubled around 10,000 4,000 a week ago, and for Delhi-Pune they have gone up to approx. a little over 15,000 6,000 a week ago. The spot airfare for flights from Delhi to Ahmedabad has also become costlier by about 55 per cent. over 5,000 3,000 a week ago.

“The average industry-wide segment size has increased by 15%. Hence a hike in airfares is visible for at least the next 28 days,” said Gaurav Patwari, Vice President, Air Category, Cleartrip.

Travel analysts also attribute the increase in fares to the peak travel season, which starts from mid-May till the end of May.

“With the temperatures rising and school holidays approaching, more and more people are planning their summer holidays. During the peak summer travel season, destinations such as Srinagar, Leh, Bagdogra, Port Blair and Goa are in high demand, with airfares typically 30-40% higher,” Sabina Chopra, Chief Operating Officer – Corporate Travel and Head of Industry Relations at Travel Online.

In particular, demand for domestic travel has remained strong during the non-peak months of January to March, and passenger numbers have broken travel records achieved during the December quarter, a busy period for the travel industry.

Aviation industry experts expect fares to remain stable through the summer months due to GoFirst’s suspension of flights and high demand for travel.

“The current development will surely lead many passengers to re-look at the options they have towards other airlines for new bookings. This will increase the fare. “Passengers may pay a premium for the forecast, and other lines will remain on rent for new capacity into the next month or so,” said Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, senior director of consulting at Crisil Market Intelligence & Analytics.