Eid Travel: UAE Residents See Airfares Surge by 100% and More

Dubai: The timing is bad for the Emirates air carriers since the start of Eid Al Adha Eid Travel and the summer vacation increases the demand for air tickets for UAE travelers which in turn has made the ticket price range to rise and fluctuate between 100% and 300% more than the normal prices depending on the route. It is actually affecting those who take last minute flight tickets, new destinations such as US, UK, India, Thailand and major cities in Europe recorded high price hikes.

“It was observed that UAE travellers are now planning both Eid holidays as well as two months summer vacations together as summer-Eid vacations. ” said Rikant Pittie, co-founder at EaseMyTrip.

As much as the increase of the fares attracted correspondingly the popular destinations too also changed. Day and weekend excursions to Thailand, Kenya, Turkey, Singapore , Hong Kong, Bali, Mauritius mostly due to increase of about 20 percent. Till these destinations, the ticket prices have soared high as compared to the estimated April-May 2024 prices.

This feature shows the significance of early booking, especially as the prices tend to remain stable for a given hotel up to a certain reservation deadline. COVID wise, people in the UAE are now booking 2-4 months in advance to their trip, and this is a shift from their previous last-minute bookings. The ones who are yet to book their tickets, for they are taking a trip in a few hours, tend to take connecting flights in a bid to save a few bucks.

For example:

• Dubai to London: Comparing the price of direct and connecting flights, when utilizing the Dubai airport, the former is a bit more expensive costing approximately AED8,970 while the latter costs approximately AED3,243.
• Dubai to New Delhi: Namibian Dollar AED2200
• Dubai to New York: Direct fares stand at AED5,620 while the connecting fares is cheaper at AED4,395.
• Abu Dhabi to New York: AED 8,760 direct flights/ AED 4,520 with connecting
• Dubai to Los Angeles: AED7,560 Direct/AED 4,590 Connecting
• Dubai to Paris: Above 3500 direct: AED 6,690 / Above 5000 connecting: AED 2,920
• Dubai to Bangkok: Maximum of AED 5,060 for direct flights and AED 2,430 for connecting flights.
• Issues: Connecting Flights as a Solution

Fare for direct flights is now 3 times expensive – so people are more opting for connect flights. Such examples include traveling from London with a connection in Prague or Riyadh where the frequency of flying can be low and the costs could be cheaper.

Travel Trends and Challenges

Families do book early but especially during the beginning of the school term dads go for the travel. Mamoun Hmedan, Chief Business Officer at Wego, said, “The fares compared to this early year have gone high and are now close to those of this summer to almost all destinations. ”

Airline Industry Constraints

Some of the significant challenges that affect the airline industry to this present include pilot shortages, plane shortages, among other factors which have caused high fares and operational challenges. However, challenges such as inadequate and aging infrastructure, limited connectivity and high costs of service continue to persist while players such as Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines continue to connect to more markets in order to meet the increasing demand.