One way international flight tickets dip below Rs 10,000 for early 2018

Key Highlights

• Nearly 50% of travelers are adhering to last minute flight bookings.
• IndiGo has started offering domestic travel for Rs 999.
• One-way tickets for certain international destinations are costing even lower than Rs 10,000.

Two weeks left till we say goodbye to 2017 and international travelers already have their bags packed. As one way airfares to certain international destinations fall, there has been a spike in last minute bookings to quick getaways.

Travel marketplace, ixigo, noted on Monday that there was a spike in ‘last minute international bookings from India’ in the month of December.

“Flight fares for the Christmas and New Year long weekends have also dipped considerably with one-way tickets for certain international sectors costing even lower than Rs 10,000,” the marketplace said.

The travel marketplace, ixigo has recommended that anyone planning a trip in early 2018 should get cracking on booking those flight tickets.

“We strongly recommend travelers to plan their international travel for the next 2-3 months. International flight fares are at an all-time low, that plus additional offers in the market such as ixigo’s Check-in to 2018 sale, which gives flyers minimum savings of Rs 2,018 on each international booking, make this the ideal time to book. We have seen a considerable spike in last minute international bookings, with 48% travelers preferring to book within 30 days of their date of travel. With 16 long weekends in 2018, we expect this trend to rise even further,” said ixigo CEO and Co-Founder, Aloke Bajpai

Popular destinations suggested by ixigo from India with one-way airfares under Rs 10,000 include Sri Lanka, Nepal, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Dubai and Qatar. “For those, who are willing to spend a little more, popular destinations with one-way fares under Rs 20,000 are Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt, Maldives, Philippines, Hong Kong and Seychelles,” it added.

From the start of the festive season which begins from a fortnight before Diwali till mid-January have the highest airfares in the year. However airlines were slashing prices of flight tickets on estimated weaker demand.

Airlines began offering Diwali discounts on flight tickets and have continued the trend through November and December as well.

From gift cards to hotel discounts, the airlines have been trying to occupy seats anyway possible.

IndiGo on Monday began offering flight tickets from Delhi to Jaipur in early January for Rs 999, a report by NDTV said. The airline has also started offering certain flight tickets for Rs 1,005.

Spicejet began its ‘Now fly for free’ campaign where customers can redeem their ticket money later by shopping on its SpiceStyle website.