Low demand keeps airfares for Eid holidayers at regular level

In stark contrast to previous years when airfares for Eid season would typically skyrocket, this year has seen air ticket prices remain at regular levels due to low demand caused by ongoing high inflation that has significantly reduced people's disposable income.

Subsequently, this has resulted in losses for air operators.

Industry insiders say air operators are selling around 40%-60% of their tickets at regular fares during the busy Eid holiday period.

As of Monday, some air operators reported an 80% sale of their Eid tickets, which is significantly lower than in previous years when 100% of tickets were sold.

The Padma Bridge is another factor that has forced air operators to reduce the number of flights on the Jashore and Barishal routes, they said.

The largest private airline in the country, US-Bangla, has fixed the one-way ticket price for the Dhaka-Saidpur route at Tk4,500 for the upcoming Eid, which is a significant decrease from the previous year's festival period when the same tickets cost between Tk8,000 and Tk9,500.

The minimum regular ticket price for this route is Tk3,500, according to the airline.

Meanwhile, the national carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines offered air tickets for two routes – Dhaka-Chattogram and Dhaka-Sylhet – at Tk3,000, which is lower than the regular price. Typically, ticket prices for these routes can go up to Tk10,000 during Eid due to high passenger demand.

Biman offered the special ticket price for these two routes while operating wide-bodied aircraft, the Boeing 737 and Boeing 787. According to the carrier, this is a financially loss-making operation for an operator.

This is because a wide-bodied aircraft's landing costs at least Tk35 lakh for the operator, while Biman will only make approximately Tk13 lakh during this Eid season.

Mohammed Salahuddin, general manager for marketing at Biman, said the special offer was made due to low passenger demand. However, after the offer was made, there was an increase in passenger flow.

He said the discount offer will not cause a loss for Biman as the airline usually operates wide-bodied aircraft, carrying international passengers, on these two routes.

Biman's special ticket price offer has forced other operators to keep their airfares at a reasonable level, he added.

Biman introduced 21 additional flights on the Saidpur and Rajshahi routes for Eid, with ticket prices ranging from Tk6,600 to Tk9,000.

Novoair, one of the leading private airlines in the country, is selling 60% of its air tickets at lower fares ahead of the festival season due to low passenger demand.

Mofizur Rahman, managing director of Novoair, said Biman's low-priced ticket offer has also forced other domestic airlines to reduce their flights on the Chattogram and Sylhet routes.

"This is because Biman is operating wide-bodied aircraft on these routes at the lowest ticket prices, which has reduced passenger demand for other operators. As a result, other operators are selling tickets at regular prices," he said.

He added that air operators were initially planning to increase ticket prices during Eid due to the rise in fuel prices and depreciation of the taka. However, low passenger demand has forced them to keep prices low.

He also mentioned that flight operations during Eid will result in losses for his airline.

"We did not need to provide additional flights during the Eid holidays due to the unusually low passenger demand," he added.

Kamrul Islam, general manager of US-Bangla, said airfares during the Eid holidays have remained low due to a decrease in passenger demand.

"Air operators have reduced the number of flights on the Barishal and Jashore routes since the opening of the Padma Bridge. Air tickets for the Jashore route are now available at Tk4,000 before Eid. They used to go up to Tk 9,000 in the past," he added.

He noted that US Bangla has not provided any additional flights during this Eid on the Jashore, Barishal, Chattogram, and Sylhet routes. However, around 10 additional flights were provided on the Rajshahi and Saidpur routes.

Kamrul Islam also said Biman's low ticket prices for Chattogram and Sylhet routes absorbed passenger demand.

"The entry of the new airline Air Astra on the Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, and Sylhet routes increased supply during the low passenger demand. Air Astra began operating on domestic routes with three aircraft in November last year," he said.

He also mentioned that the economic crisis is another reason for low passenger demand, as many Eid-goers are considering keeping transport costs lo w during this festival.