Dip in airfares from city to some domestic destinations

Pune: Domestic airfares from Pune to different places have witnessed a drop by 35% to 40% in the last few days. Flyers, however, are not happy as the airfare in some sectors continue to remain high.A cursory glance at the one-way fare for June 20 from Pune to Delhi will reveal a drop by about 32% to around Rs4,800. Even the fares between Pune and Goa, which was on an all-time high in the past months, has dropped by around 60%, travel agents said.The ministry of civil aviation recently told airlines to keep a check on fares. However, travel companies said that the primary reason for drop in airfares was that the summer travel season was over. “While we thank the government for taking the initiative (to tell airlines to control airfares), the decision should have been taken during the peak travel season and not during off-season. The schools have now reopened, and the travel season is over. The demand has dipped now, and hence fares have gone down, too,” Nilesh Bhansali, director, Travel Agents Association of Pune, said.However, some sectors, like Pune-Srinagar continue to see high airfares despite the dip. Also, oneway fare between Pune and Kolkata, which used to remain around Rs9,000- Rs11,000, has come down to just Rs 8500, which is still high for many. “How do I book four tickets for Kolkata when the fare for one person for one way is Rs8,000? The fare should come down to at least Rs5000. Train journeys have become scary and with fares still high, options for travelling have become less,” Rajeev Ghosh, who was planning a short trip to his hometown in Kolkata in July, said.Fares for eastern cities like Patna or Ranchi continue to remain high. A one-way fare from Pune to Patna is around Rs12,000. “Places like Patna, Kolkata etc have less flights as compared to Delhi and the number of flyers is more. But with monsoon approaching, less people will travel. Hence, one can expect the fares to come down,” another travel company executive pointed out.“The dip has nothing to do with the appeal of the civil aviation ministry. It came at a time when the summer travel season was almost over,” a representative of a travel company said.