Steep fare hike checks festival rush in airlines

Mumbai: Air traffic across the country has taken a surprise dip at peak festive season, thanks to the steep increase in airfares by all domestic carriers.
This is bad news for the foundering aviation sector, as carriers traditionally face supply constraints during the season. The average passenger load factor dropped to around 50-55 per cent in the past fortnight, compared with 70-75 per cent for most airlines last year.
Industry experts told Financial Chronicle that the recent hike in airfare, beginning September, has hit traffic substantially. In certain routes, tickets booked in early September for a travel in November were almost 55-60 per cent higher. As a result, some carriers have been flying with empty seats.
An Airport Authority of India official confirmed that the load factor this season has been less than last year’s festival season. “Usually, flights are supposed to be choc-a-bloc with a lot of people visiting friends and families during October-November. However, the traffic looks much less this year. A major reason could be the recent fare hike,” the official told FC.
Read News In Full 20/10/13 Soumonty Kanungo/mydigitalfc.com