Ahmedabad flight tickets shoot up to Rs 40,000 for Cricket World Cup final, give tailwind to airlines

IndiGo and Vistara have deployed one flight each between Mumbai and Ahmedabad for the two days. IndiGo has also added a flight on the Bengaluru-Ahmedabad sector along with the Hyderabad-Ahmedabad sector.

As India stormed into the finals of the Cricket World Cup 2023, all eyes are now on Sunday, November 19, 2023, when India plays Australia at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad. The stadium, now the largest in the country, can seat 1.32 lakh spectators.

Airlines are deploying additional flights over the weekend to and from Ahmedabad and the fares have been climbing by the minute. For an industry which was expecting a record Diwali and the passenger numbers have been a dampener, this has come as a “double dhamaka” – the end of the Diwali holidays weekend along with the additional opportunistic cricket traffic.

Up, Up and away
A look at the airline booking engines shows that Ahmedabad is in for a barrage of flights starting Saturday, November 18th. A typical Saturday sees 18 flights a day between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, but on November 18th, over half of those flights are not selling. Airlines are pricing flights via other destinations like via Bengaluru or Delhi.

For a flight to Ahmedabad from Delhi, the fares range from 14,000 to Rs 39,000, while those between Mumbai and Ahmedabad Rs 10,000 to 32,000. The story is no different from Bengaluru with fares between Rs 26,999 to Rs 33,000, show various booking portals.

The Kolkata to Ahmedabad flights are selling at Rs 40,000 if you plan to fly on November 18th.

The demand is also high to Vadodara, Ahmedabad’s neighbouring district from where one can reach Ahmedabad in around two hours by road. Fares have hit the roof on flights to Vadodara from Mumbai and Delhi.

Cheapest fare as of November 17th mid-day for travel on November 18th

More flights being deployed
The high fares, limited availability of seats and high demand have attracted the attention of airlines. Some airlines are deploying extra flights just for the match. Vistara is adding one frequency between Delhi and Ahmedabad on the 18th and 20th November to cater to the onward and return traffic of the match.

IndiGo and Vistara have deployed one flight each between Mumbai and Ahmedabad for the two days. IndiGo has also added a flight on the Bengaluru-Ahmedabad sector along with the Hyderabad-Ahmedabad sector. More airlines could jump into the fray depending on how the seats are sold in the next few hours.

Passengers are those who are still arranging tickets by all possible means. The lack of hotel rooms is another factor that gets added, and thus a few flights on Sunday morning could be added soon to help those who have tickets for the match but can’t find accommodation.

The much needed respite for airlines?
Diwali has not brought the cheer airlines were looking for. The much anticipated new high in passenger numbers was nowhere to be seen. In fact, the traffic struggled to remain above the 4 lakh mark for a few days.
This naturally has had an effect on the bottom lines of airlines, with some dropping fares last minute to attract passengers, diluting yields in the interest of higher revenue and avoiding the risk of flying empty seats.
This one-off spike will be good news for airlines which would find a sudden rush in revenue as passengers scramble to be part of the historic event at Ahmedabad.

Tail Note
Typical traffic on such high-octane events is one way. Since aircraft cannot operate one way, airlines price the two-way fares into one considering that the return would be as good as empty. The high pricing more than compensates for the cost in this case.

The lack of high traffic during Diwali and the Cricket World Cup has been bothering airline managers for a while, and a few have taken the opportunity to jump in and make the most while the sun shines.

Passengers who typically complain of high fares don’t mind going for an instant purchase at such high fares for the Fear of Missing Out. All eyes are now on Ahmedabad and the hours leading up to that.