Soaring fancy for flying premium lifts demand, airfares

Indians are opting to fly premium more often, especially on metro routes, as they seek better experiences and business travel grows. That's sent fares for such seats on aircraft soaring through the roof.

- Daanish Anand

Overall demand for business class and premium economy seats on aircraft has increased 50-60% over a year earlier, revealed data by travel portals MakeMyTrip, EaseMyTrip and Thomas Cook India. According to industry executives, airfares for the category have nearly doubled in a year.

"We've seen a strong demand for business and premium economy-class bookings as compared to 2023, driven by factors such as the growing aspirations of India's middle class, corporate travel policies emphasizing employee well-being and shift towards enhanced travel experiences," said Indiver Rastogi, president & group head, global business travel, Thomas Cook India, told Mint.

In India the business class makes up 5-6% of the total market, say industry insiders. That compares with 9.2% of the total seats, globally, according to CAPA, providing a big opportunity for domestic carriers. Airlines like Air India and IndiGo have collectively over 1,400 aircraft on order and expected to grow their business class offerings.