Airfare hike looms as festive season nears
06 Sep 2011
Indian airlines are gearing up for a substantial hike in fares on domestic routes with the festive season just round the corner, according to travel industry sources.
According to airline sources, with the festive season kicking off in October air travel is bound to peak over the coming three months. They said airlines are contemplating an increase of 8- 10% on metro routes, while routes with lesser penetration by carriers may experience steeper hikes of 12-15%.
Sources said all major airlines, including Jet Airways, Kingfisher and Air India were planning fare hikes and it was likely that low cost carriers SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir would follow suit.
Airlines expect the load factors to touch 85-90% level in this period.
The festive season kicks off with Dussehra, followed by Diwali, Bakr-Id and finally Christmas in December.
The lean season for airlines comes to an end in September.