With Eid-ul-Fitr fast approaching, airfares for both domestic and international flights have skyrocketed, causing hardship and making air travel unaffordable for many passengers.
Azra Mourin and Snayel Khan, a newly married couple, intend to travel to Singapore for a week after Eid.
Despite there being direct flights to Singapore from Dhaka, the couple have opted to depart from Kolkata for Singapore, as the cost would be much cheaper.
They said that despite the almost equal air distance, the ticket price from Dhaka was twice as high as Kolkata. The couple plans to go to Kolkata by road and then travel to Singapore from there.
A similar decision was taken by Sukanta Bhattacharya, a senior official working in a foreign NGO and his wife. They will also travel to Bangkok via Kolkata to save money.
They noted that the fare from Kolkata to Bangkok is nearly three times less compared to Dhaka.
Allegations of inflated ticket prices were verified by visits to several online ticket booking websites and talking to ticket agency officials.
It was found that on average Kolkata to Singapore tickets were available between Tk15,000 to Tk16,000. The cost from Dhaka to the same destination was Tk28,000 to Tk30,000.
On the other hand, an air passenger has to spend Tk30,000 to fly from Dhaka to Bangkok. Even though the travel hours are the same, tickets from Kolkata were available at Tk12,000.
Domestic flight tickets hit as well
A similar situation of rising ticket prices was observed for domestic routes as well.
During the Eid period, people from middle-income households are eager to travel by air to reach their destinations quickly and without trouble. However, their Eid journey becomes a challenge due to soaring ticket prices during this period.
Mahfuz Hossain, a passenger intending to go to Chittagong, said a week ago he had been browsing for business class tickets on the US-Bangla Airlines’ website and saw the price was Tk7,150.
However, now, the price has surged to Tk8,000.
Similarly, the price of a ticket for the economy class was Tk4,999, but it has increased to Tk5,000 to Tk6,000 till the filing of this report on Monday.
What authorities say
Passengers have complained that airline authorities are cheating them by increasing the prices because they know many would prefer air travel during Eid.
However, the airline authorities denied the complaints of the passengers and said that air tickets are not always available like buses.
Those with experience in air travel have booked and confirmed their tickets a month in advance, as tickets are sold out and prices typically soar during festivals, they said.
Addressing allegations of ticket price changes, US Bangla Airlines General Manager (Public Relations) Md Kamrul Islam said: "If the booking time limit is changed, then the price will automatically be adjusted.”
He added that each airline operates according to its business policies, which can differ from those of other airlines, thereby influencing ticket prices.
Regarding the high ticket prices, leaders of the Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB) and Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (Toab) said the airlines that are operating flights from Dhaka have maintained a strong syndicate for a long time. The syndicate increases the price of tickets on special occasions or festivals.
Toab Secretary Mohammad Nezam Uddin asked: "If India can make a profit by selling tickets at low prices, why can't we?"
Instead of increasing ticket prices by manipulating syndicates, he suggested that airline authorities increase the frequency of their flights to make a profit.
ATAB President Abdus Salam Aref stated that air operators have attributed the increase in ticket pricing to the dollar crunch and higher fuel costs. “But we have noticed a trend of increased profits among airlines focusing on festivals and celebrations.”
He suggested that the aviation regulatory body should fix airfares on a maximum and minimum scale and form a monitoring cell to observe the market as well.
