Bargain flight prices disappear as airline industry transforms into duopoly
As India’s airline market transforms into a duopoly, ticket prices that have long known to be dirt-cheap are climbing.
Airfares on India’s busiest route, Mumbai–New Delhi, were 23% higher during January through August than 2022, according to Thomas Cook India and SOTC Travel. India also saw the highest airfare surge — 41% — in the region in the first three months of this year compared with 2019, a study by Airports Council International Asia Pacific found.
The higher prices come at a time when two domestic carriers — IndiGo and Air India Ltd. — are set to control the bulk of one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets, while most smaller rivals struggle to stay afloat in the notoriously competitive market.
