31 October,2010 08:10 AM IST | | Bipin Kumar Singh
It's easier flying to Kuala Lumpur than to New Delhi. Seriously. Domestic travel has gone down because of cheaper international fares and easy access to countries like Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. Tickets on
international routes are selling out fast while tickets for domestic tourist destinations like Kullu Manali, Shimla, Goa and Kerala, have few buyers.u00a0
The fares on international routes announced by low cost airline AirAsia start from Rs 4,000 for a Mumbai-Kuala Lumpur flight. The tickets on Indian carriers operating on the domestic sector are higher. The airfare for Mumbai- Delhi is at least Rs 5,000.
"We have noticed that the traffic in the international sector has increased because of low cost airlines floating cheaper tickets. If a three-night-four-day stay in Kullu Manali is more expensive than Kuala Lumpur, wouldn't you rather fly abroad," asks Devang Sanghvi, owner, Venus Holidays Limited.u00a0
According to Suresh Nair, country head of AirAsia, "Our airline is getting an excellent response from Indian passengers. Passenger load to all the nine destinations where we operate has increased. We plan to add more direct flights for Delhi and Kolkata connecting to Bangkok. The tickets at AirAsia, start at approximately Rs 4,000 for Kuala Lumpur. Passengers only have to spend another Rs 2,000 to travel to Singapore. "Our Singapore flight goes via Kuala Lumpur. A return ticket will be approximately Rs 12,000."
