Direct Pune-Dubai flight fare increases four-fold in two months

PUNE: A last-minute direct flight to Dubai from Pune can now cost between Rs45,000 and Rs52,000 or more, after a number of international flights were recently discontinued from Pune. In February, a ticket on the same route would cost anywhere from Rs 12,000 to Rs 13,000.

Travel companies in the city are finding themselves under a heap of cancellations and re-bookings ever since various airlines cancelled or grounded their direct international flights from Pune at a time when summer trips were about to peak. The Lohegaon airport has only two international flight connections left. Three international flights to Frankfurt, Singapore and Abu Dhabi were discontinued in February and March.

There have been at least 50% to 60% re-bookings and cancellations — perhaps the highest in years, said travel sources. Nikhil Thakurdas, owner of Odyssey Tours and Travels, said that Pune has only two direct flights to Dubai now.

Thakurdas added that business travellers from Pune have been affected due to longer flying time, as they now have to drive to Mumbai or fly from Delhi or Bangalore. “Flights from Pune were well-priced, especially to Abu Dhabi and Singapore. Now, it has become more expensive to fly from other cities. The flight cancellations have also affected holiday plans. This summer has seen the highest number of people looking for alternative flights, which are a lot more expensive than originally booked,” said Thakurdas.

Santosh Gupta, owner of Shree Vinayak Holidays, said that his company has seen a 60% rise in the number of cancellations and re-bookings this summer due to the discontinuation of direct international flight connections. “I had 33 passengers booked to travel to Singapore from Pune for April and May. Two additional groups, totalling 22 passengers, were headed to Abu Dhabi in the same period. When the flights were discontinued, every passenger to Singapore had to shell out another Rs20,000-odd for a fresh air ticket from Mumbai,” said Gupta.

He said that airfares from Pune to Dubai have also soared. “I booked a ticket costing Rs52,000 on Friday for April 7 for a one way direct flight from Pune to Dubai, as against the earlier Rs12,000 on an average,” he said.

Director of Hasmukh Travels Vijay Thakkar said that the incidence of cancellations and re-bookings this summer has been to the tune of 50% at his company. “The 30-odd passengers travelling to Singapore from Pune in April-May period will fly from Mumbai as will passengers travelling to Abu Dhabi. This summer vacation has perhaps seen so many cancellations in as many sectors for the first time in years. For instance, close to 50 clients had booked tours to Kashmir this summer but they cancelled their trip after the Pulwama attack,” said Thakkar.

Aloke Bajpai, CEO of ixigo, said, “the one-way fare on the Pune-Dubai route has increased by over 40%. The average one-way fare of a Pune-Dubai flight in February was Rs13,153 as compared to Rs19,000- Rs22,000 in April. Flight disruptions have also led to some travellers rescheduling their travel plans. We have noticed a 10% to 15% increase in flight cancellations by travellers from Pune.”