Rising fares clip revenge travel wings

The days of revenge travel and pent-up demand driving air traffic in India seem to be over. Data from Indian civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suggests that the festive months are seeing a slowdown in air travel growth, which experts attribute primarily to higher fares. Data from travel portals suggests that airfares are up by 30-40% from the levels in December 2022.

- Anu Sharma

"On the face of it, it does look like the days of revenge travel are over. What is more concerning is that even in a good quarter, when the capacity has inched towards normal, the demand hasn't, which can be blamed on high prices," said Ameya Joshi, founder of Aviation consultancy firm Network Thoughts.

Revenge travel exploded in the period between December 2022 and May 2023, when air traffic each month grew an average 8% compared to corresponding months in 2019. May 2023 saw a record 13.2 million passengers taking flight.