Upon resuming international operations on March 27, airfares are expected to drop by up to 40%.
Following two years of restrictions imposed by COVID, India will open its airspace to international flights for the first time.
Airlines Get Ready
In the coming months, Lufthansa and Swiss plan to almost double their flight schedules. There may be a 17 percent increase in Singapore Airlines’ flights. Meanwhile, IndiGo plans to resume nearly 100 global flights in the coming months.
Sky-High Airfares: Why?
Currently, airlines are operating under air bubble arrangements with a few countries since international flights are still prohibited. Because of limited capacity, airfares had increased by almost 100% compared to pre-pandemic levels, particularly on routes such as India-US. Aloke Bajpai, group chief executive of travel portal Ixigo, said that a demand-supply imbalance was created by the suspension of regular international flights.
As a result, foreign travel on certain routes inside the air bubbles became more expensive.
Rise In Fuel Prices
After flights resume soon, capacity will return, and international fares can return to pre-pandemic levels, as more routes and increased connectivity will be available. As a result of the surge in crude oil prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, cheaper airfares will also bear the brunt of a fresh increase in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices.
The price of ATF has been increased five times this year, on top of a 100% increase last year.
Price Hike Ahead?
According to Rajesh Magow, Makemytrip’s chief executive, prices may rise again if fuel prices continue to rise due to a lack of a resolution to the Ukraine crisis. Leisure travel to foreign destinations will be strong, but business travel may take longer to return to normal levels, according to Bajpai.
Due to the shift from corporate travel to remote work, corporate travel was severely impacted during the pandemic.
Due to a slower recovery of business and leisure trips, airlines may be affected.
Singapore Airlines
According to Singapore Airlines India General Manager Sy Yen Chen, the airline welcomed the government’s decision to reopen foreign travel.
Combined with Singapore’s expansion of Vaccinated Travel Lanes in India, he said, the move will provide greater convenience for Indian travelers.
Additionally, the airline plans to increase the frequency of its flights across India in anticipation of renewed demand.
Increasing Flight Frequencies
In addition, it will resume A380 services from Mumbai this month, and from Delhi in the near future. By October of this year, Lufthansa and Swiss will increase their weekly flight count from 22 to 42. A senior executive at Vistara said that the airline is “exploring all options on augmenting international flights.”