Airfares skyrocket for Indian travellers

Kolkata: Both international and domestic airfares have spiked over the last three weeks due to rising fuel costs and the depreciation of the rupee.
Sharat Dhall, president of Yatra.com, commented: “There are multiple factors at play in this significant increase in airfares, ranging 15-25 per cent, across sectors.
“The effect of the depreciating rupee, the hike in aviation turbine fuel prices and significant pre-bookings via promotions have all led to a sudden rise in airfares this time.”
Prices on popular routes such as Bangkok, Singapore, Dubai and Colombo have seen a marked increase of 40 per cent on average for Indian carriers serving these destinations.
Manoj Saraf, managing director of Gainwell Travel & Leisure, commented: “Coupled with the low exchange value of the Indian rupee, which renders all prices quoted in US dollars more expensive, an average hike of 18 per cent in overseas sector fares was seen in the last six weeks.
Read news in full 01/10/13 Shekhar Niyogi/TTG Asia