Dirt cheap tickets for immediate travel!

Can you travel at short notice? Then some good news for you. For lots of destinations, last minute fares have dropped to very low levels, making them super attractive. The saying "Book Early to save more" is not always true. If demand is low, airlines drop prices last minute. You can now travel for much cheaper, almost rock bottom prices, with only 1 week/10 days advance booking.

Check the examples and screenshots below: 
#
Origin
Destination
Travel Date
Airline
One way fare
Remarks
1
Doha (Qatar)
Kochi (India)
26 October
Air India Express
7900 INR

2
Chennai
Sharjah
31 October
Spicejet
6300 INR

3
Mangalore
Dubai
26 October
Air India Express
5400 INR

4
Chennai
Paris
29 October
Jet Airways
13000 INR
+ 17k for, return (30k total)
5
Chennai
Hanoi (Vietnam)
28, 32 October/1st Nov
Air Asia
7600 INR

6
New Delhi
Paris
28 October
Jet Airways
15500 INR

7
Chennai
Male (Maldives)
1st Nov
Spicejet
6230 INR

8
Chennai
Singapore
1st Nov
Scoot
4000 INR

9
Mumbai
Nairobi Kenya
3rd Nov
Saudia
13000 INR

10
Chennai
Doha
7th Nov
Indigo
7500 INR

11
Chennai
Abu Dhabi
3rd Nov
Srilankan
7200 INR


Further, Rohit Tripathi has provided following low fares he has spotted
  1. Chennai- Kuala Lumpur, 7th -13th feb, Rs 6000 return
  2. Chennai- Jakartha 10th Nov to 14th Nov: Rs 10700 return
  3. Chennai - Bangkok 22nd to 26th March : INR 9200 return
  4. Kochi- Kuala Lumpur:  15th to 18th Nov: 5200 INR return
  5. Chennai-Bali 20th to 27th Nov: 15000 INR return


There's no magic formula to find the cheapest origin and destination- you need to keep trying for multiple destinations and dates till you land on jackpot.

These low fares are most probably due to empty seats- not many people seem to be traveling this Deepavali season compared to last year- may be they have less disposable cash due to GST, inflation. May be people are avoiding unnecessary travel due to flood like situation in many cities. May be those settled abroad are not making a trip to home this season. Not very sure, but the result is evident. Airlines have resorted to deep discounts on select dates and destinations where the flight is almost empty. If you notice these are departures in next few weeks. If you can pack your bag and fly, this is the time.
Chennai-Singapore Scoot- INR 4000
Doha-Kochi on Air India Express, INR 7900 
Mangalore - Dubai- 5400 INR, Air India Express

If you notice carefully, only on 31st October the fare is dirt cheap. On all other days it is higher. You should be lucky to spot this kind of fares. Also return flight will be tricky- you should be flexible to fly back on whatever dates it is cheap

Chennai-Paris, Jet Airways Direct flight- 13000 INR
Thanks to Karthik Murali for bringing this to my attention this morning
 Mangalore-Dubai Spicejet INR 6000
 Chennai-Male (Maldives)- Rs 6221

Chennai- Hanoi- Air Asia, Rs 7600


Further, if you notice, Make My Trip ad has got just a bit more informative- they are showing on which date the advertised fares are available. This is brilliant as we can instantly verify and book. Good job. May be they listened to my rant in an earlier post.

Points to note:
1. Visa requirements: Visa to some of the countries cost several thousand rupees and few days of processing time. Ensure that you've factored visa cost and processing time before booking

2. Return tickets: Above fares are one way. Return should be available at similar fares, but you should be flexible to try multiple dates or different airlines.

3. Convenience fee: Factor a few hundred rupees extra per person as convenience fee- may vary by website/airline.

4. Recommend booking directly on airline websites for better handling of any issues/changes post confirmation

5. Some low cost airline fares may not include check in bag, meals and such add on services.

All fares as seen on airline/makemytrip website at the time of composing this post. Prices may change over time. Let me know if you booked any tickets after seeing this post.

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