Delhi-Chennai Airfares Almost Double, Here’s Why Flying In India Is Becoming Expensive

The grounding of Boeing 737 Max aircraft in India may turn out to be beneficial for Indigo as fare prices are expected to shoot up further due to demand-supply mismatch, reports MoneyControl.

Indigo, with the biggest fleet and most extensive network, is set to gain the most as it does not own any Boeing Max 737 aircraft. Therefore, it is likely to deploy more flights between metros in order to make the most of the situation.

This season witnessed a 60 per cent jump on some routes, with Mumbai-Delhi airfares shooting up by 50 per cent, and rates for Delhi-Chennai route having almost doubled.

These prices are expected to hike further after DGCA’s announcement of grounding Boeing Max 737 aircraft following security concerns over Ethiopian Airline and Lion Air crashes.

“The shortage of planes and high seat occupancies are expected to push airfares north in the short term. The airfares were at least 15 percent higher this year compared to last year, and owing to the current situation, airfares are expected to rise further this season,” said Sharat Dhall, COO (B2C), Yatra.com.

Industry officials claim almost 50 flights will be cancelled everyday. This is because, apart from Jet Airways' five planes that were grounded, 13 aircraft of SpiceJet will now get added to the list.

The upcoming summer vacations are another reason for the fares to increase.