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Tariq Engineer

Mumbai , Jan 18

When booking a domestic air ticket online, it pays to be flexible about flight timing, especially on a popular route.

The cost of a one-way economy ticket from Mumbai to Delhi on Friday (as per fares listed on Thursday) ranged from Rs 4,018 to Rs 9,642 on cleartrip.com for the same airline, that is, Jet Airways. MakeMyTrip.com, another travel Web site, provided similar price ranges.

The price depends on the sector and time of departure, said Mr Deep Kalra, Founder and CEO of MakeMyTrip.com.

According to Mr Kalra, a sector such as Mumbai-Delhi will have fuller flights in the morning because both are business destinations.

"These flights are high-yield flights so the airline looks to maximise revenue," he said.

On MakeMyTrip.com, the Jet flight leaving Mumbai at 8.05 a.m. costs Rs 8,464 (plus taxes) while the flight leaving at 2.50 p.m. costs Rs 2,874 (plus taxes).

According to Mr Manish Dureja, General Manager, Revenues and E-Management for Jet Airways, the availability of seats is determined by whether it is a morning flight with heavy demand or an afternoon flight with light demand.

Then the airline factors in its revenue targets, the expected remaining demand and the price elasticity of that demand.

"We take historical trends and use a mathematical model to forecast loads and try to maximise the revenue stream," Mr Dureja said. The largest price differentials were found on Yatra.com, where tickets ranged from Rs 2,875 plus taxes to Rs 14,858 plus taxes for Jet on the Mumbai-Delhi route. This is the most expensive Jet flight but it flies Mumbai-Chennai-Delhi. The most expensive direct flight from Mumbai to Delhi costs Rs 6,675.

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