(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Air fares are set to go up considerably for key destinations mainly in India and Europe as many residents prepare to fly out during their summer break from June-end.
Travel industry sources said the air fare will more than double to certain sectors by end-June as schools, colleges and other educational institutions in Qatar have been scheduled to close for summer holidays in the last week of next month.
The peak summer travel season normally starts in the last week of June and extends until late September.
Air travellers will have to open their wallets wide this summer, inquiries reveal.
For example, a return economy class fare to Kochi in the southern Indian state of Kerala will go beyond QR5,200 for outbound travel on June 25 and inbound on August 31.
Currently, it is available for QR2,100 provided the passenger returns to Doha by the first week of June.
Similarly, for Thiruvananthapuram in south India, passengers will have to cough up around QR4,500 during peak summer. Tickets are currently available for QR2,200 in the sector.
Another sought-after destination, London in the UK will see fares climbing in excess of QR6,100 in the third week of July, mainly due to Eid ul-Fitr holidays. Economy class passengers to London can currently purchase seats for about QR4,400 now, sources said.
Paris, which is another favourite holiday destination for Qataris, will also see huge rush of passengers with return economy class fare jumping to QR6,330 in mid-July compared with QR4,500 now.
Sources said they expected the fares to go up between 50 and 100% for major Asian destinations as well, especially on the Indian sector, as summer holidays begin.
"Normally, the GCC sector sees fierce competition, but low seat capacity against rising travel demand has pushed up air fares, mainly to the subcontinent," a travel agency executive said.
With turmoil shaking Syria and Libya, there are hardly any bookings for Damascus, Aleppo, Tripoli or Benghazi, inquiries show.
According to Noorudhin A Ahmed, senior manager, Trans Orient Air Services, while the peak summer fares were much higher compared to off-season price, these had not gone up significantly this time compared with last year.
"The relatively low oil price is perhaps one of the reasons. With lower fuel bill, airlines seem passing on the benefits to passengers," Ahmed said.
On India, he said, higher fares were seen to the three international airports in Kerala € Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode than Mumbai or New Delhi.
Kerala accounts for a sizeable number of Indians living across the six GCC countries.
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