Book before it’s late: Airfares skyrocketing ahead of the holidays
dubai — With the long-weekend at the end of November, a number of residents will be planning to fly to their home countries to spend time with their loved ones.
But the airfares are rising with every passing day — in fact every passing hour — as the bookings increase and the availability of seats reduces.
Data collated by Khaleej Times showed that the biggest fare increase — as expected — will be on the Kerala and Egypt routes during the period of November 23-26 and the next extended holiday weekend of November 30-December 3, with fares jumping more than 70 per cent in just a week’s time.
The report compares the departure dates of November 23 and return on November 26 for this weekend, and then the November-end extended holiday weekend. The UAE government has announced public holidays from November 30 to December 3 occasions of the birthday of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him); National Day; and Commemoration Day.
Apart from the increased bookings that contribute to the airfare hike, ticket prices have to be hiked to offset the operational costs in order to make it viable, if there aren’t any alternative carriers, said Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research. “Equally, peak demand, as we see at holiday events like Eid, Christmas and summer are times that force up fares due to the finite seat capacity.”
During the high airfare season, Ahmad said passengers can benefit from Emirates’ Skywards and flydubai’s Open point accumulation programmes which can often help offset price rises — although much of that price suppression will depend on how many points/miles someone has.
“Also, some carriers offer promotional fares so it makes sense to grab these when they’re advertised. Throughout the year, Emirates is renowned for offering extremely competitive fares months in advance of travel and has proven popular.
Astute buyers get these seats quickly so that when peak travel times roll around, customers aren’t having to pay top dollar nor look for alternative fares or changes that then disrupt their travel plans,” Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research
“Astute buyers get these seats quickly so that when peak travel times roll around, customers aren’t having to pay top dollar nor look for alternative fares or changes that then disrupt their travel plans,” he added.
According to data available on cleartripe.ae, Dubai to Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) return fares with departure on November 23 and return on November 26 is around Dh712 by multiple Indian carriers, but increases to Dh1,227 over the next holiday weekend, an increase of 72 per cent.
Similarly, Egyptian citizens — who make up one of the biggest expat communities in the UAE — planning to fly to their homeland over the next week will have to shell out substantially higher airfares.
Based on the data calculated, airfares on EgyptAir will increase from Dh1,885 this week for an economy class fare to Dh2,825 next week, a jump of 50 per cent. Airfares to Beirut, also a popular destination among tourists, will be increasing by 71 per cent in a week’s time, from Dh780 to Dh1,335.
The increased bookings during the extended holiday weekend also lifts the economy class fares to London from Dubai, with Virgin Atlantic flights costing Dh2,865 during the November 30-December 3 weekend compared to Dh2,325 for November 23- 26.
The airfares include budget carriers as well as full-fledged carriers and are calculated on the basis of lowest rates available at cleartrip. ae. The fares were calculated on Wednesday morning.
waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com
A cOMpArisOn Of Air fArEs
From Dubai to various destinations during the period of November 23-26 and November 30-December 3