46% Indians may drop air travel plans as Russia-Ukraine hike flight prices: Survey – Times of India

New Delhi: Around 46% of Indians who were planning to travel by flight this summer are likely to either give up on their plans or take an alternative mode of travel, as airlines slashed ticket prices. are increasing. crude oil After the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
These were the findings of a survey of 10,389 people from 301 districts across India by community social media platform LocalCircle, conducted in the aftermath of the Russo-Ukraine War and its impact on crude oil and airfares for international and domestic flights. Was. Global crude oil prices have risen this week, hitting their highest level since 2008.
According to another LocalCircle survey on February 23, 59% of the respondents said that they were planning to travel during the period March to May, though only 12% had made their bookings. However, the new survey shows that the travel landscape has changed significantly within two weeks.
About 32% of those surveyed said they “won’t give tickets now” and wait for prices to drop, and if they don’t, they’ll use alternative modes of travel. Meanwhile, 14% said they would wait for prices to drop and that if they didn’t, they wouldn’t travel. While 26% said they were willing to pay higher fares and book their tickets soon, only 14% had already booked their tickets for travel between March and May before the price hike. “As per most analysts crude oil prices are unlikely to rebound anytime soon, it is likely that airlines’ revenue may see a decline of around 40-50% during the March-May period,” LocalCircle said.