Following a scorching summer season of high prices, ticket prices on the perpetually crowded UAE-INDIA routes are experiencing considerable falls to just at or below Dh1,000 in economy. That will surely be very useful for anyone who is about to travel to and from India very soon.
The Dh1,000 fares are nothing compared to the spikes of Dh2,700 per person for flights from the UAE to North and West India in July and August. People with end points in South India paid up to Dh3,500 to travel during the summer. (To keep the fare costs manageable, many travellers headed for South Indian destinations opted to fly to Amritsar and then catch a domestic flight to where they needed to go.
For example, Fares to India which used to be extremely high to all but the busiest airports in the South sector have dropped 25-30%. Also, after Sept. 16, prices will drop to an average of Dh870-Dh990 and will most likely stay that way until the middle of Nov.
Actually a lot of the travel agents in the UAE call this the “correction period” after the high summer tariffs of summer 2023(due to revenge travel) and 2022(where the flight capacities were effected due to travel restrictions caused by the pandemic.
With a very costly summer, (mostly for middle class families) atlast the india-uae sector is stabilising,” says Basheer Mohammed, General Manager, Europe Travel and Tours. These prices are much lower than the peaks of 2022-2023.
“Last year and the year before, Indian expatriates returning to the UAE after the summer holidays had to delay their travel plans due to a more than 200 per cent increase in fares compared to off-season dates.
A quick weekend trip
Even those tourists that would like to take a weekend jaunt to India (September 14-16) for the Onam festival in Kerala can still get tickets at the last minute for Dh810 (to Mumbai) and Dh1,095 (to Kochi),” according to Rashid Abbas, Managing Director of Arooha Travels.
Abbas said that during the July- August break the tickets to these destinations were way over Dh2,500.
Richmond Gulf Travels Director of Sales, Mehar Sawlani, says that airfares from Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah for India flights are also experiencing more price falls. [Above Dh1,300] is what a lot of tourists from Dubai who choose to fly out of Abu Dhabi, RAK etc are paying, ” said Mehar.
For example, Abu Dhabi—Mumbai flights are priced at Dh660 (Vistara) between September 12 and 17. Delhi fares are priced at Dh1095, Bengaluru flights are priced at Dh1,250 (Etihad Airways), and Abu Dhabi—Kochi fares are averaging at Dh1,253 (Etihad Airways).
RAK-Mumbai fares are priced at Dh735 (IndiGo). Travel agents also say that the flights from sharjah international airport are also quite affordable.
Demand in India has been steady in the first eight months of the year,” said Afi Ahmed, Chairman of Smart Travels. There are lots of indian expats that go back to india 2 or 3 times a year, always off season,” he said. Even travelers are benefiting from the greater accessibility to Tier 2 cities (Air India Express).
“This month, some expatriate travellers, especially those without kids (or without school–going children), have postponed their return to Dubai after September 16 to take advantage of the lower fares.
Round trip ticket from dubai to mumbai, economy class, travel dates between sept. 12-17, air india, dh810.
SpiceJet and IndiGo are the cheapest with average prices of Dh840 on that route, but full-service Vistara and Emirates run for about Dh1,000-Dh1,090. Over the summer, fares on this route were averaging Dh1,070 to Dh1,800.
The same goes with delhi-dubai, the flight is Dh846 (air india) and Dh1,100 (emirates) compared to Dh1,200 to Dh1,900.
As Ahmed put it, “The Middle Eastern carriers tend to have somewhat higher fares since the majority of these flights serve as connecting traffic for Europe and the Americas. “Budget carriers, on the other hand, cater to the point-to-point traffic.
In the Hyper-active South India Sector (namely Kerala and Karnataka) prices have skyrocketed from Dh1,588-Dh2,277 July-August.
Fares now average from Dh1,096 (Kochi) to Dh1,380 (Thiruvananthapuram). Tickets from Dubai to Chennai cost Dh938 and from Dubai to Jaipur Dh957. Ahmed said because “Etihad Airways and other airlines have upgrade their connectivity to Jaipur, which used to be a tier two city.
