Air Fare Hike Following Vistara Crisis, Indian Travellers To Face 30% Price Surge

Vistara Airlines: This summer, Indian travellers may have to pay 5–30% more for their flights due to airline capacity reductions brought on by increased travel demand and operational difficulties. This comes after Vistara reduced its operational hours due to pilot strain and performance issues.

Vistara's Flight Reductions

The carrier said, “We are cutting 25-30 flights per day, which represents roughly 10 per cent of our total capacity.” According to The Hindu Business Line, IndiGo has also grounded 75 of its planes because of engine problems. These reductions coincide with a rise in demand for travel due to the approaching summer vacations (April–June).

Expert Predictions on Airfare Increase

According to industry experts cited in the paper, there would be an increase in airfare on popular routes. Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, Senior Director and Global Head, Transport, Logistics, and Mobility, Consulting, Crisil Market Intelligence, and Analytics, said as per the outlet, “With the busy season starting we could see upward pressure on Airfares due to the operational headwinds being seen by a few of the airlines. The overall impact of this is going to be in the range of 5-8 per cent.”

Potential Temporary Nature of Airfare Increase

This increase may only be temporary since, once airlines resume regular operations in a few weeks, rates should stabilise. Ixigo said that "certain frequented routes could see a rise of anywhere between 5 per cent and 30 per cent for a one way flight," indicating that there has been a noticeable increase in airfare costs.