MUMBAI: Air fares between Mumbai and Chandigarh shot through the roof since Thursday, following India's entry into the World Cup semi-final against Pakistan. A day after the Indian team beat the Aussies, fares to Chandigarh—the venue of the semi-final match—quickly tripled. India will take on Pakistan next Wednesday at Mohali, Chandigarh.
City-based tour operators have seen a sudden surge in demand for bookings to Chandigarh, an otherwise low-key sector. The usual one-way fare between Mumbai and Chandigarh is between Rs 6,000 and Rs 8,000. However, on the day of the match, the highest fare available is anywhere between Rs 18,000 and Rs 22,000. Mumbai has only three direct flights to Chandigarh and they are left with very few seats for the coming Wednesday. "Just after India's victory, I booked at least eight people to Chandigarh on a one-way fare of more than Rs 20,000," said Rajesh Rateria, managing director, Cirrus Travels. "The fares are high for Wednesday as most people want to fly out, watch the match and return on Thursday." Tour operators said the fact that there are few flights to Chandigarh from the city aided the fare rise.
"Compared to Delhi, Mumbai has only three direct flights to Chandigarh," said a Fort-based travel agent. "The fare between Delhi and Chandigarh is much lower because nine flights operate daily between these destinations. Also, people can drive down to Chandigarh in four hours."
Tour operators said there were still some reasonably priced flights to Chandigarh. However, they halt at two places before reaching the destination; their flight duration is more than 10 hours. "There are flights available via Indore and Delhi for Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000," said another tour operator.
Due to the high fares, tour operator Jay Bhatia has been asking his clients to book for Tuesday to Delhi instead, and then cab it up to Chandigarh. "There are more than 15 flights between Mumbai and Delhi at a reasonable Rs 3,000-5,000." Travel agents said fares have been high for places where India has been playing. "Just before the India-South Africa match in Nagpur, fare to Nagpur was around Rs 14,000 instead of Rs 5,000-7,000," Rateria said.
TOI
City-based tour operators have seen a sudden surge in demand for bookings to Chandigarh, an otherwise low-key sector. The usual one-way fare between Mumbai and Chandigarh is between Rs 6,000 and Rs 8,000. However, on the day of the match, the highest fare available is anywhere between Rs 18,000 and Rs 22,000. Mumbai has only three direct flights to Chandigarh and they are left with very few seats for the coming Wednesday. "Just after India's victory, I booked at least eight people to Chandigarh on a one-way fare of more than Rs 20,000," said Rajesh Rateria, managing director, Cirrus Travels. "The fares are high for Wednesday as most people want to fly out, watch the match and return on Thursday." Tour operators said the fact that there are few flights to Chandigarh from the city aided the fare rise.
"Compared to Delhi, Mumbai has only three direct flights to Chandigarh," said a Fort-based travel agent. "The fare between Delhi and Chandigarh is much lower because nine flights operate daily between these destinations. Also, people can drive down to Chandigarh in four hours."
Tour operators said there were still some reasonably priced flights to Chandigarh. However, they halt at two places before reaching the destination; their flight duration is more than 10 hours. "There are flights available via Indore and Delhi for Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000," said another tour operator.
Due to the high fares, tour operator Jay Bhatia has been asking his clients to book for Tuesday to Delhi instead, and then cab it up to Chandigarh. "There are more than 15 flights between Mumbai and Delhi at a reasonable Rs 3,000-5,000." Travel agents said fares have been high for places where India has been playing. "Just before the India-South Africa match in Nagpur, fare to Nagpur was around Rs 14,000 instead of Rs 5,000-7,000," Rateria said.
TOI
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