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Hike in airfares

SUMMER is here and the annual hike in airfares is back again. It’s been done with monotonous regularity over the years and while many expat travellers who want just a ticket home have slammed the fare increases as unjust, there are two sides to the story.

The practice of jacking up the prices when demand soars is one that the avaiation industry follows all over the globe and the UAE is no exception. Where travellers —especially from the subcontinent who form a huge chunk of the annual summer exodus — are, perhaps justified in raising a hue and cry is the price. A jump of Dh500 for the Indian sector has long been viewed as far too high and unjustified.

To add to their woes, the summer bookings need to be done months in advance else they run the risk of having to cancel their holidays. Budget airlines might make the difference, but there just isn’t enough of such flights to cope with the demand leaving thousands with no option but to buy at the price that airlines have set.

Perhaps a more resonable hike in prices might appease travellers, but it is very unlikely any airline will even contemplate such a move given that summer is when they more than make up for the leaner days.