Kayak Commercial, a leading travel search engine has shared insights on domestic flights. All the prices are for return economy domestic Indian flights, based on searches between August 1 and August 22, 2022, compared to searches between August 3 and August 23, 2019.

KAYAK flight search insights:

• Top trending destination for domestic flights – Tirupati tops the trending list by a substantial margin, as the searches for that destination have increased by over 477% from the same period in 2019. This is followed by:
  • Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh  411% increase 
  • Leh, Jammu and Kashmir 72% increase 
  • Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands  31% increase 
  • Madurai, Tamil Nadu  21% increase 
• Most affordable destination for domestic travel – Mumbai leads the pack as the most affordable destination for domestic travel at about INR 7223 along with Ahmedabad about INR 7707 and Pune about INR 8110.
• Most expensive destination for domestic flights – Shirdi at about INR 15551 is the most expensive destination, along with Varanasi about INR 15029  and Port Blair about INR 14939  leads the most expensive destination for domestic flights.
• The most searched domestic destinations for travel over the  Ganesh Chaturthi travel period are:

1. New Delhi
2. Goa
3. Tirupati 
4. Mumbai 
5. Bengaluru 

• The busiest day at India’s airports over the upcoming holiday period could be Wednesday 31st of August. Searches for travel on this date are about 53%** higher than domestic searches for flights on any other day of the Ganesh Chaturthi travel period. 

According to KAYAK Commercial  Director, Abhijit Mishra, “With the headwinds of COVID-19 still affecting travel in India, searches for domestic flights in the Ganesh Chaturthi period have yet to reach pre-pandemic levels. We have also witnessed a significant increase in airfare prices, with an approximate 39% increase for the average cost of a return economy flight, which roughly amounts to INR 10093.* There are still great deals to be had though, try using flexible search options to identify the most affordable dates, and set price alerts for your preferred destinations.” 

Kayak has shared the following tips for travellers –

• Set a price alert: As one of KAYAK’s most popular features, price alerts help travellers save money by alerting them when prices change for a flight or hotel they want. If a flight your eyeing drops in price, KAYAK will alert you so they can lock in that new price, instantly saving you both time and money. 
• Get flexible: If you can be, choose ‘flexible’ filters.  If your travel dates aren’t set in stone, and you have a little wiggle room available, chances are you can save some cash booking within +/- 3 days of your desired date range. 
• Choose your dates wisely: Flying out and returning midweek vs the weekend can be cheaper on short haul and longer haul. It is a similar story for shorter breaks. Travelling on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday generally may be a lot more affordable than at other times of the week. Percentages are on average and prices may vary with time.