A random search done by DNA for fares on the Tokyo-India sector on the travel website cleartrip.com for Saturday showed that one-way ticket prices of some airlines had moved up to as high as Rs2 lakh.
As panic-stricken people flee from quake-hit Japan, fares for flights from Tokyo to India have soared to unbelievable levels.
A random search done by DNA for fares on the Tokyo-India sector on the travel website cleartrip.com for Saturday showed that one-way ticket prices of some airlines had moved up to as high as Rs2 lakh. And here we are not talking about business or first class fares; these are rates for economy class.
Industry experts and travel agents say the current fares are almost two to three times of what airlines were charging for last-minute booking before the earthquake struck.
Anoop Kanuga, director Bathija Travels, said fares on the Japanese route have never been so high. He believes sharp decline in capacity on the sector could have resulted fares flying skywards. He estimated the airlines have reduced capacity between Japan and India by 20%.
“Airlines have slashed the number of flights between Japan and India because of a lull in tourism and business on this sector due to the nuclear catastrophe in Japan. Flights from India (to Japan) are going empty while those returning from Japan are full. Even 10 days back, the economy fare on this route would not have crossed Rs 70,000,” said Kanuga.
In normal times, a one-way economy ticket for travel from India to Japan would have cost around Rs25,000-30,000.
A senior executive of gulf carrier Emirates, who did not want to be named, said mass exodus from Japan could have led to a sudden spike in demand for air tickets. An executive with state-owned Air India said his airlines had added more flights between Japan and India, which was keeping its fares at reasonable levels.
“After the earthquake, Air India is operating daily flights to Japan from New Delhi against four flights a week. to evacuate stranded Indians there,” said the Air India official.
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