Mass flight cancellations by Air India Express following a human resources crisis has led to a spike in airfares on some routes, as last-minute bookings on other airlines became the only option for desperate fliers. On Thursday, the Tata Group airline cancelled 85 flights, or one-fourth of its total services in a typical day.
A number of flights were also missing from the Air India Express booking options for the rest of the week.With around 180 flights cancelled since Tuesday night and the number of operational flights curtailed to 283 per day from 350-380, Air India Express is losing business to rivals, especially market leader IndiGo. For instance, the ticket price for IndiGo’s non-stop flight from Bengaluru to Thiruvananthapuram has jumped to Rs7,500 from the regular price of Rs 2,900.
The now-cancelled Air India Express flight on this route was the only low-cost alternative.On several routes, the cancellations have led to a monopoly-like situation in favour of IndiGo. On one such route — Mangaluru to Bengaluru — the non-stop airfare has jumped to Rs5,500 from the usual Rs 3,600, while for the Surat-Hyderabad service it has risen to Rs 6,800 from Rs 4,500.Fares on some popular routes like Delhi-Srinagar, where Air India Express cancelled its service on Thursday, saw a less significant increase. IndiGo’s non-stop flight on this route on Friday was priced at Rs 11,500 per head as against the regular Rs 6,000-9,000.
“Air India Express enjoys a monopoly on certain international routes from the south of India to West Asia. There have been cancellations on this sector as well, leading to a significant surge in ticket prices,” said a Mumbai-based travel operator.Air India Express will extend the cancellation on the Kannur-Abu Dhabi route on Friday, which has led to a spike in airfare. IndiGo, which is offering a one-stop flight on the route, has priced its ticket at `42,800 as against the usual `14,500.On the Trichy to Muscat route, where Air India Express has a monopoly, the airline has no flights scheduled until further notice. Fares for IndiGo’s one-stop service have thus jumped to `40,000 from the usual `10,000-14,000.
“The disruptions have cascaded across the network, forcing us to curtail the schedules over the next few days. We had to do this to cope with the non-availability of crew and to recover schedules,” Aloke Singh, CEO, Air India Express, said in an internal mail to employees on Wednesday.
