Vistara Crisis Drives Up Airfares by Up to 30% on Vital Routes

Flying within India might get pricier this summer, with airfares potentially going up by 5-30%. This increase is due to airlines reducing the number of flights available, partly because of problems Vistara is facing. Vistara has cut back on its flights by about 25-30 per day, which is around 10% of all its flights. IndiGo, another airline, has also had to ground 75 of its planes because of engine issues. These cuts are happening just when more people are planning to travel during the summer holidays from April to June.

Breaking Down the Surge in Airfare Prices

The report quoted industry experts predicting a rise in airfare for popular routes. Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, Senior Director and Global Head of Transport, Logistics, and Mobility at Crisil Market Intelligence and Analytics, mentioned, "With the busy season starting, we could see upward pressure on airfares due to operational challenges faced by some airlines. This could result in an increase of 5-8%."

Travel Portals Report Surge in Prices

Ixigo, a travel portal, stated that air travelers might face a major increase in prices. They mentioned that spot fares on popular routes have risen by 20-25% due to high demand before peak summer travel and some flight cancellations causing a temporary dip in capacity. However, they believe this disruption is temporary and expect fares to stabilize soon as flight schedules normalize. Ixigo has observed significant price surges, with some popular routes seeing increases ranging from 5% to 30% for one-way flights.

Is this a temporary spike?

This increase in fares might not last long, as prices could go back to normal within a few weeks once airlines get back to their regular operations.

Also read: Taiwan Earthquake Toll: 9 Dead, Search On for 50 Missing