Tamil Nadu   

Of delays, cancellations and shifts in loyalties

For many of the middle-income group people, hopes of flying to holiday destinations or to their native place have come crashing down.

The earlier hopeful browsing of travel websites for cheap airfares seems to have reduced drastically with airliners increasing the fares to meet the cost of aviation turbine fuel cost.

Travel agents say there is more than a discernible shift in the percentage of passengers shifting from low-cost flying to trains. Even the lowest cost among flights seems out of bounds for people who used to fly to Mumbai via Bangalore or to Hyderabad or New Delhi through other cities.

Is the shift substantial? “Of course,” says Manager of Aloha Tours and Travels Tony Nayagam. “There is a 50 per cent shift from flights. And this chunk has moved towards trains.”

Other travel agencies say that while there has been a steady demand for Third A/C in trains, the air fares increase has led to a spurt in the demand for Second A/C tickets.

Earlier, people preferred low-cost flights to Second A/C for trips to destinations that were more than 1,000 km from Coimbatore.

While the fare was more or less the same, the special offers from airlines and the time one could save of travel were factors that weaned people from train journey.

With people already tightening their belt with regard to travel in the face of inflation on other fronts, the rise in air fares has forced changes to holiday plans.

The flight fare to Chennai in a low-cost airliner has doubled from Rs.2,200, he says. So, people go by trains to Chennai, what with night and day services available from Coimbatore.

“Flying within the country for holidays is only optional, unlike business trips where time is crucial,” points out proprietor of A.K.R. Textiles C.K. Sashikumar.

“Even in business trips, the return journey can be booked in trains or buses to cut costs. Trains starting at night will help us avoid the hotel charges we have to pay for staying overnight till we board an early morning flight back to Coimbatore,” he says.

Mr. Nayagam says “More than the actual flight fare, high taxes because of fuel price impacts travel plans. This is why people now find train journey more economical”.

What customers planning long holidays say is that they can travel by train, save the extra money on flights and spend it on sight-seeing, food and purchases, he says.

“Earlier, people used to pay for overnight stay in hotels to take morning flights. Now, after their tour, they can take a night train, save on hotel charges and also avoid huge flight fares. Tourists say they cannot afford both hotel costs and air fares.”

M. Kannan, a senior official at the Central Secretariat in New Delhi, agrees that flights are best avoided if there is enough time for travel during a holiday.

“I have to take a flight if it is official work, because I need to get back to office quickly,” he says.

“As for personal trips, I will still take a flight if I have to travel alone to my native place in Periyakulam (in Theni District) on a personal visit.

But, if my family (wife and son) are with me, I will go by train as it will be not be economical for all of us to fly.

A train from New Delhi to Chennai and another from there to Periyakulam is a better option,” he says.

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