UAE flights: Ticket prices up by 60% on peak travel day amid Eid Al Adha break
Travel demand for flights to arab and other regional destinations has boomed alongside ticket prices as UAE residents prepare for the upcoming Eid Al Adha Break.
As Aidasani remarks, the demand for air travel always increases during the holiday time and summer. “Because of the peak season, people love to travel, especially in the summer and during holiday times like Eid,” said Aidasani while commenting on travel demand trends.
His analysis suggest flights to near east countries have increased from twenty to thirty percent, with more expensive tickets rising as much as forty to sixty percent. “Airlines also get geared up for Eid. They start additional flights and open new routes wherever demand rises,” shared Aidasani with regard to increased bookings and traffic.
Syria is seeing a surge in demand while UAE residents constantly seek to explore Egypt, and Lebanon remains a strong preference. The Saudi's experience an increase in traffic due to Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages.
According to Praveen Choudhary of Al Saffron Travel and Tourism, Egypt and Morocco top the list of Arab countries where people are traveling to during Eid. Choudhary, along with other experts, noted a sharp increase in demand from both UAE residents and expats saying, “We are witnessing a huge surge of Egypt visa applications during the holiday season.”
Choudhary also emphasized claiming tickets early to evade the surge in prices, or in his words, “To avoid getting ripped off.”
“In mid-September, if you book 40-45 days in advance, it will be around half the price,” he mentioned adding, “If the ticket was priced at Dh500, now it’s more than 1,000.”
Though flexibility is a perk highly coveted by travelers, Al Abdin states “We need to fight for it during off-peak times,” further elaborating that prices have surged, and with Egypt and Emirates increasing flight operations, the surge will affect most travelers forcing them to pay additional charges.
Golden Eagle Travel & Tourism's sales manager Zain Al Abdin said that airlines have increased services to match the increased demand. For instance, 'Syrian Airlines was the sole operator servicing Syria, but now FlyDubai and Emirates have started increasing their flights. Still, fares have gone up by about 50%.'
He further added, Travelers who leave it to the last minute to purchase their tickets tend to pay a premium, particularly those opting for non-changeable or non-refundable tickets. “Approximately 90 percent of the tickets people book are non-refundable,” he was quoted saying. It makes no difference if they are subject to a lack of wiggle room because most people are bound to dates set by public sector holidays.
Changing Travel Trends
This year has also shown strong bookings compared to last Eid, albeit slightly lower. “This is primarily because of the overlap of Eid holidays with school finals. A lot of families are postponing their travels until after Eid,” Al Abdin reasoned.
“He said some families prefer to spend the same amount of money on post-Eid holidays rather than expensive short trips and Eid holiday getaways. People are more inclined to wait until after the exams and spend Dh7,000 on a full summer trip instead ofDh4,000 during a three-day Eid trip.”
“Travel after Eid is expected to be more attractive, especially for long-haul trips. There’s going to be a price drop after Eid, especially for longer destinations like Europe, Russia, and northern Turkey,” he reasoned.
Al Abdin noted that travelers prefer short-haul trips during Eid such as Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Istanbul, but save long-haul destinations for summer holidays. “They include Europe, Russia, North Turkey, Japan, Korea, Norway.”
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