UK reopening: India-London one-way economy fares zoom past business and first fares in August – Times of India

NEW DELHI: India-UK fares have skyrocketed as travel restrictions were eased from here during the deadly second wave since Sunday morning. senior I a s officer sanjeev Gupta took to Twitter To complain about the one-way fares reaching Rs 4 lakh on Saturday and he has taken up the issue with the aviation secretary PS Kharola.
“One-way fare of Rs 3.95 lakh from Delhi to London on 26th August. No, it’s not first class. it’s on the economy British Airways. Air India, Vistara also 1.2 to 2.3 lakhs. College Admission Time! Check out the lowest fares in August on @GoogleTravel. The aviation secretary has been alerted,” Gupta, secretary to the Inter-State Council Secretariat Secretary, which comes under the Union Home Ministry, said on social media.

Comment has been sought from the Union Aviation Ministry on whether it is planning to rein in India-UK airfares. On their part, airlines say the only way to add capacity is by allowing more flights.
A combination of three factors – 30 weekly flights between the two countries, a reduction in travel demand for nearly 3.5 months since the UK restricted travelers from India and the ongoing peak student season – has led to a hike in fares. Speaking to students and the travel community hurt by the exorbitant India-UK fares, Gupta said in a series of tweets on Saturday: “The API (Application Programming Interface) of airlines is being used by travel portals, in some cases There are problems. If economy class is not available, it automatically receives business fare, but only shows economy on the travel portal. The origin point is still (approximately) Rs 1.2 lakh for a one-way direct flight still too high,” he said.
“Even Rs 1.15 lakh is too high and not affordable for most of the students who seek admission purely on merit and not on financial strength. I’ve been able to identify perhaps a technical issue in the display of those very high fares on travel portals and @GoogleTravel. Will write in some time,” tweeted Gupta.
Following a severe COVID outbreak in the UK last December, India has allowed 30 weekly scheduled flights from this January – 15 by Indian carriers (Air India and Vistara) and several by British carriers (British Airways and Vistara). Virgin AtlanticBritain put India on its red list during a disastrous second wave here on April 23, 2021. This meant that Indian citizens were not allowed to enter the UK. And a handful of categories are exempt from this restriction such as requiring British nationals/residents traveling from India to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days upon arrival in the UK.
From August 8, India will move to the Amber category, under which travelers from India will be allowed to do so without any mandatory 10-day hotel quarantine as they will be allowed to do so at their homes or other places of stay in the UK. The opening up amid stagnant demand has led to a rise in fares.
A quick search on travel portals on a Saturday evening shows Mumbai/Delhi-London one-way, economy fares in August exceeding Rs 1 lakh on most days. Fares start to drop after September 10, by the time the overcrowding is over. The Delhi/Mumbai-London one-way goes up to Rs 1.3 lakh.