If you are planning to fly home or take a holiday this festive season, you may want to book sooner rather than later! Domestic airfares on some of India's
busiest routes have already risen sharply compared with last year, with Delhi-Hyderabad fares up 68% and Mumbai-Kolkata fares up 51%. And the pressure could become more noticeable as the festive and year-end travel season gets closer. While airlines have reduced the number of domestic flights, they are operating larger aircraft on several routes. Meaning, the overall number of seats has not fallen by much but passengers may still have fewer departure options on popular travel days. One date that stands out is December 7, which is expected to have the highest domestic flight capacity during the October-December quarter, with 589,386 seats scheduled. So, why could this be one of the more expensive and difficult days to fly? Fewer Flights, Bigger Planes And Higher Fares According to data from aviation analytics firm OAG, airlines have scheduled about 5% fewer domestic flights for the October-December quarter compared with the same period last year. However, total seat capacity is down by only 1.2%, as airlines are using larger aircraft to carry more passengers on individual flights. This distinction matters a lot during the festive season. Having more seats overall does not necessarily mean travellers have more choices. If there are fewer departures on a particular route or date, passengers have fewer options to choose from. Once cheaper fare categories sell out, the remaining tickets can become significantly more expensive. The situation is already visible across several popular routes. Apart from the 68% rise on Delhi-Hyderabad and 51% increase on Mumbai-Kolkata, fares are up 39% on Delhi-Goa and 37% on Mumbai-Bengaluru, based on average one-way fares between September 1 and November 10. Also Read: Radhika Nomllers Explores Washington’s Surreal Hoh Rain Forest: What To Know Before You Visit December 7 is expected to see 589,386 seats on sale, making it the busiest day for domestic capacity this quarter. However, that figure is actually lower than last year's busiest day, when 603,634 seats were scheduled. For travellers, that combination of strong demand and limited departure choices could mean higher fares, particularly on popular city-to-city and work-to-hometown routes. Jet Fuel Is Another Reason Airfares Are Rising Higher operating costs are also adding pressure on airlines. Aviation turbine fuel (ATF), which is a major expense for carriers, became ₹16 per litre more expensive from October 1. Domestic ATF prices have now reached around ₹137 per litre, up from ₹121 per litre. This followed increases in both August and September. Fuel can account for around 30-40% of an airline's operating expenses, according to ICRA. The impact, however, is not the same across every route. Airlines are adding capacity on some sectors while reducing it on others. For example, Mumbai-Jamnagar capacity has more than tripled compared with last year, while Ahmedabad-Kolkata capacity is down 20.9% and Hyderabad-Jaipur capacity has fallen 33.1%. There is also an interesting shift towards international travel. International flights are up 3% and seats by 2% for the October-December quarter. Planned capacity to Saudi Arabia is up 22%, while capacity to China has quadrupled. For those planning domestic festive travel, however, the message is fairly simple: don't wait until the last minute if your dates are fixed. With demand expected to remain strong and some routes offering fewer departure choices, fares can climb further as the travel date gets closer. Yatra expects fares on high-demand routes to rise another 15-20% as departure dates approach where capacity remains constrained.
