Lower fuel price also a factor: Expert New firms make flying cheaper

Mumbai, April 13: Flying on overseas destinations from India became cheaper this summer with airfares going down up to 28 per cent amid capacity addition on international routes.

The entry of foreign carriers including Brussels Airlines have also helped the airlines keep their ticket prices lower in April this year compared to same period of 2016, Cox & Kings said.

As per the study, the fares for a Delhi-London journey came down to `31,800 in April this year as against `39,497 in the same month last year, a drop of 19 per cent.

Similarly, fares from New Delhi to Singapore also dropped by 22 per cent to `22,715 in April this year from `29,069 in April 2016. “Our research has indicated that fares this summer have been cheaper compared to the same period last year,” John Nair, head of business travel at Cox & Kings said.

The ticket prices for Mumbai-Kuala Lumpur saw the sharpest decline with airfares going down by 28 per cent to `20,377 from `28,342, it said.

Airfares on MumbaiDubai route declined 11 per cent while MumbaiParis and Mumbai-Hong Kong route saw a drop of three per cent each this summer as compared to April last year, the report added. The ticket prices for Sydney from Mumbai decreased 16 per cent to `60,345 from `72,169.

The key factor behind this is the increase in capacity from India thereby leading to increased competition amongst airlines, he said. “This has resulted in fares coming down. Secondly, airlines have also reduced fares due to a decrease in fuel prices,” he added. — PTI Anjana Reddy, the founder of celebrity fashion lines company Universal Sportsbiz Pvt Ltd (USPL), has been adjudged to be one of the top 30 e-commerce and retail entrepreneurs aged less than 30 years in Asia by Forbes magazine.

Explaining the selection of Ms Reddy for the 30 under 30 list in the e-commerce and retail space, Forbes magazine said: “Ms Reddy is the founder of Indian fashion company Universal Sportsbiz, which boasts a clutch of celebrity-endorsed brands specializing in trendy clothing and accessories, including Collectabillia, Wrogn and Imara.”

Her brands, Forbes added, “sell in more than 70 stores, as well as on ecommerce platforms. Wrogn is co-owned by Indian cricket star Virat Kohli, while cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar is one of the co-investors in Collectabillia.”

Speaking about the potential of her brands, Ms Reddy said, “Each of our brands has the potential to emerge as multimillion