Unaffordable airfares, uncertainty over train tickets cast shadow on festive season travel

Pune: While airlines may laud the Centre’s Rs10,000-crore aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price stabilisation fund as a vital cushion in times of surging global crude prices, for Salisbury Park resident Jagannath Sinha, the relief is nowhere to be found.

Sinha, a private sector employee, was left stunned while checking airfares for Diwali in early Nov. “Our home is in Patna, and the return fare for a family of four currently stands at Rs96,000. How can a middle-class family travel at such fares? My credit card limit is Rs5 lakh; spending nearly a fifth of that just on tickets would be a massive financial blow” he said.

Lullanagar resident Anandam Bag is grappling with a similar dilemma. While looking for return fares to Kolkata for five people during Durga Puja in mid-Oct, he found the cost touching Rs1.19 lakh. “For a moment, I thought I had misread the screen. The problem is that train bookings only open 60 days in advance. With airfares only expected to rise, I have to stay alert for months just to secure a train berth,” he said.

Patna and Kolkata are not the only destinations seeing a massive festive spike. For Diwali, return airfares from Pune for a family of four have reached eye-watering levels: Rs1.7 lakh for Prayagraj, Rs90,000 for Ranchi, Rs70,000 for Chandigarh, and Rs65,000 for Delhi.

While airlines like IndiGo and SpiceJet have welcomed the govt’s fund, claiming it provides “stability and predictability,” experts warn that passengers shouldn’t expect cheaper tickets.

Mehboob Shaikh, president, Travel Agents Association of India (central and south Maharashtra), clarified that the measure is not a subsidy for flyers. “It is one-time budgetary support to oil marketing companies (OMCs) in the form of interest-free advances. It covers OMC losses, not the direct operating costs of airlines. Consequently, ATF prices will still fluctuate for airlines, and airfares will remain high. With no capping mechanism in place, the massive gap between demand and limited flight supply during Diwali will continue to drive prices up,” Shaikh told TOI.

A senior railway official in Pune confirmed that the 120-day advance reservation period does not apply to all festive specials, and the standard window remains 60 days for many routes. “For Nov travel, the window only opens in Sept, leaving travelers in a state of flux,” he said.

Nilesh Bhansali, president, Travel Agents Association of Pune, echoed the frustration of the travelling public. “We are asking how this fund helps the passenger. For years, we have demanded that the civil aviation ministry introduce airfare caps during peak seasons. We aren’t asking for year-round regulation, but travellers who contribute to airline revenues deserve protection during these spikes,” he said.

However, aviation analyst Dhairyashil Vandekar believes price controls aren’t the answer. He said the ATF fund is meant to cushion airlines against sudden fuel spikes caused by geopolitical tensions.

“Diwali and other festivals create a massive surge in travel, resulting in high fares due to dynamic pricing and limited capacity. No fare caps can be imposed because the ministry follows a deregulated market approach. This is the period when airlines offset losses incurred during the lean season. The long-term solution isn’t price control; it’s more aircraft, 24/7 civil airports, and lower taxes,” Vandekar said.