‘Last-minute air ticket bookings on the rise’

MUMBAI: Nearly 30% international passengers travelling between January and June booked their air tickets less than a week before the travel date, said a survey of fliers’ purchasing behaviour conducted by a travel portal.

Normally, air tickets are booked in advance, as they are cheaper compared with the last-minute purchases. A report by a travel portal showed the last-minute bookings were the highest followed by those buying air tickets 14 to 29 days (22%) before the travel date.

The data, however, showed that domestic fliers booking air tickets a month before day of journey fetched fares cheaper by up to 250%.

For instance, a one-way economy class journey from Mumbai to Bangkok booked less than a week before the journey was priced at Rs23,669.

The same journey booked up to 29 days prior to travel was priced at Rs23,112.

On the domestic route, fliers booking early got significantly cheaper tickets.

For instance, the average cost of a Mumbai-delhi economy class one-way journey was Rs3,791 when booked a month before travel, while it rose to Rs8,012 (211% increase) when booked a week before.

“Aggressively-priced fares, inventory management by airlines have given a boost to the travel industry. The discounts helped both planned and impulse travellers to get the best deals. While international fares bucked the trend, a month before the planned date of travel is the best time to book domestic flights,” said a senior official from the travel portal.

The study also showed that the cost of stay in Mumbai was the highest among five metro cities. While the median room tariffs at a three-star property in the city was Rs3,771, the night stay at a five-star hotel was priced at Rs7,415.

The report also showed an increasing trend of travellers booking flights on their mobile phones.

International flights worth Rs5.4 lakh and domestic flights worth Rs2.23 lakh were booked using mobile phones, it