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29 March 2024

UAE holidaymakers get up to 70% travel discounts

Published
By Bindu Suresh Rai

Booking for the holidays is never an easy task, especially when you are the typical Dubai traveller who waits until the last minute to finalise travel plans.

But it’s not all gloom and doom this peak Christmas and New Year period, with increased capacity across several sectors working in favour of passengers looking to book themselves for the holidays, with a difference in airfare of up to a 70 per cent drop for those flexible with dates.
 
Speaking to ‘Emirates24|7’, Claire Flintoff, who is looking to fly to Manchester, UK, over the Christmas period to be with her family, confessed her displeasure at the lack of direct connections and the high fare she was being forced to pay.
 
“We are a family of four flying home to my parents over Christmas, but the combined airfare between us is nearly Dh20,000 if we choose to fly direct to Manchester with Emirates,” said Flintoff.
 
She added: “Plus, it’s not even the date we want, with a December 21 departure not even available on the airline. And if we choose to fly with Etihad, the only other direct carrier, then we should be ready to pay nearly Dh28,000.”
 
The Flintoff family is not alone in this plight, with many sectors booking out well in advance for the peak travel dates over the seasonal holiday period.
Carol Joseph, who is booking flights to Kochi for Christmas, said: “My husband, son and I are travelling on December 18 to India, with return even before New Year Eve.
 
“But imagine, Emirates is already booked on the date. IndiGo is available, but a month back, the combined for the three of us was approximately Dh3,000; today that fare has crossed Dh7,000.
 
“And frankly, with Emirates costing Dh9,000 among us, it’s better to fly full fare and pre book a seat without paying and manage a meal for all three of us.”
 
Indirect flights with a stopover usually emerge as a cheaper alternative, but when this reporter checked the option on German airline, Lufthansa, during the carrier’s 48-hour flash sale, the cost of a single ticket reached Dh9,940 or nearly Dh40,000 for the whole lot of them.
 
“The key is to book well in advance or be flexible with your travel dates,” said William Horsley, General Manager with Al Futtaim Travels.
 
“Passengers are now better positioned than they were three years ago, a time when airline frequency and seat capacity on sectors was limited.”
Horsley explained that with more flights on the horizon, passengers are better placed in getting a seat for the dates they want.
 
“And if you happen to be flexible about your travel, then chances are, you can still manage a bargain booking this late in the day,” he said.
 
Applying the theory, when we checked the fares for the Manchester flight two days later from its December 21 departure and a day earlier to its January 3 return, the airfare dropped down Dh7,000 to a mere Dh2,970.
 
Horsley explained: “With the increased seat capacity, airlines resort to cut throat competition and discounted airfares to fill up their planes on days that are not peak travel ones.
 
“So passengers still have a golden chance to bag a bargain if they keep a lookout.”
 
Putting the theory further to the test, traditionally busy sectors such as Dubai-Mumbai return for travel dates of December 21 until January 4 saw the direct flight fare reach Dh2,893 on budget carrier, IndiGo, which emerged as the cheapest.
 
Adjust the dates by two days on both sectors and the airfare drops by Dh870.
 
Other traditionally popular sectors over Christmas period includes Dubai-Manila, which is currently available at Dh5,540 with the return direct on Emirates; however, the fare drops to Dh4,865 if you fly direct via Etihad with a slight tweak in dates.
 
While the Dubai-New York sector hits Dh6,878 if you fly via Qatar Airways on the chosen dates, but drop to Dh6,160 if you fly Etihad direct from Abu Dhabi if you return on January 2 instead.
 
Geetanjali Lohri said: “If I am unable to book well in advance for the Christmas and New Year holidays, then I simply create a fare alert across websites and wait for a cheaper alternative to drop into my inbox.
 
“So far, I haven’t been disappointed.”