The ongoing blockade and re-routing of flights to different destinations has not made any impact on the airfares, says industry sources.
Flying time and distance to some destinations from Doha has increased due to re-routing and it varies from a few minutes to a longer duration.
However, it has no impact on prices. The hike seen at present is seasonal feature and is due to the holiday and festival season, according to industry experts.
Airfare to several destinations from Doha has surged between 20 and 50 percent.
“The current situation did not make any impact on airfares. Also flights to several South Asian destinations are fully booked for the month of July. There is no effect because of the blockade, or re-routing of flights. None of the airlines have increased airfare, ” said a travel advisor.
“People are going home as usual for the summer holidays. But some passengers were concerned if ticket prices would increase due to the present situation,” he added.
The peak season in Doha started around end of May and will continue until September 15 — from Ramadan till the end of Eid Al Adha and summer school vacation in September.
According to industry sources, flights to destinations like the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, South Indian cities, including Chennai and cities in Kerala, and other places like Mumbai as well as to European destinations have seen an increase of airfare by between 20 and 50 percent.
A round trip to Colombo will cost an average of QR2,500, to Kozhikode more than QR3,000 and QR2,500 to Mumbai. A return trip to London in economy class would cost from QR4,500, and a similar trip to Paris would cost a similar amount.
The prices are not much different compared to the airfare during the same period last year. However, travel agents say that the airfares are subject to fluctuation depending on the date of travel. And many travellers known about the fact and book their tickets when airfare is cheaper.
“Air ticket prices are always high when it comes to peak season. But there is no fare as the current price. It always depends on the date of travel and date of purchase. Many passengers are aware of it now and those who booked tickets before three or four months, have a comparatively affordable average fare. There were special offers by airlines in January and February. So many passengers booked air tickets during those two months to travel in summer,” says a travel agent.
“Some other passengers tend to travel during the off peak time, like avoid travelling during the Eid. So eventually sometimes the actual off peak season turns to peak. Like this year during Eid Al Fitr not many travelled,” he said.