My 2023 Air Travel Summary

2023 was a good year for travel compared to earlier few years where travel was limited due to covid.

This year wasn't my best but still good. Below are the numbers

• Number of flights taken: 23 (14 international, 9 domestic)
  
• No of airlines flown: 11
  
• New airlines tried: Akasa, Swiss Air, Korean Air, Wizz Air
  
• New countries flown: South Korea, France, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Greece, Hungary
• Class: all economy (no premium economy, no business)
• Months without any flights: Jan, April, June, July, December
• Best Aircraft experience: SQ A380
• Longest was Mumbai- Frankfurt while shortest was Busan -Jeju
• Continents: Only Asia and Europe.
• Total flying distance: 1.2x around the world.
  

New experiences:

• European airlines EasyJet and Ryanair adding even more cost cutting measures
• Watching on TV if our checked bag has cleared security in Korean airports
• Changi airport experience after a decade, including Jewel

More details about 2023 flights here:

https://my.flightradar24.com/enidhi/2023

How was your year 2023 from air travel perspective? Expect a separate post on my main blog www.enidhi.net for overall travel summary for 2023.

Busan airport to city using public transport

Here is how to plan your travel to Busan city from Busan airport. While you can take a taxi to Busan city center for about 25000 KRW for a sedan, 40000 KRW for a van, a much cheaper option is to use monorail and metro networks.

But using public transport will have its conveniences- if you have a large checked in bag, trying to get them through entry gates, escalators, steps etc will be cumbersome, particularly during peak hours. Better take a taxi if you prefer convenience.

Otherwise you can get into mono rail right opposite the airport. Then follow google maps to decide where to exit and change to the metro network, depending on where your hotel is. You will need a T-Money card, which you can buy inside the airport or at the convenience store below the monorail station. Good thing is Google map shows public transport options in SOuth Korea, though it is said Google map won’t work in South Korea (it can’t show taxi or walking options)

I got a local sim card from lG for 38000 KRW and my sim card pack would double up as a T Money card- had to walk into a 7 Eleven store and top it up with 20000 KRW.

I feel it will be cheaper and better to fly to Busan instead of Seoul while planning your Korea trip. Tickets to Busan are a bit cheaper, Busan is less crowded than Seoul.

Unique procedure in Korean Airports

South Korean Airports have a unique procedure not experienced in other airports around the world.

Airports around the world, we check in our bag and move to security area. In South Korea, we need to wait for a few minutes while our checked in bag goes through security check. I was asked to wait and keep monitoring the screen above till my bag is visible in the TV.

At first I didn't even know what to look for. I was looking at the display board below which was showing flight numbers and was wondering how to figure out my bag number in this board. Then an airline staff said my bag is clear and then I realized the TV above shows checked bags moving across.

Busan airport had the TV but Jeju and Seoul airports didn't. We just had to wait. International departure also follows same rule.

In a way it is good. If your bag had some items not allowed you can take it out right there, than having to be called to baggage area from your gate delaying boarding later.

Similar: Koreanair experience * Airlines in South Korea * 

The Jewel, Changi Sound & light show

 The Jewel is Changi Airport's latest attraction. [Check here for other updates] The Jewel is a 24x7 waterfall from the roof.

However, we can't visit the Jewel from transit area. We need to go out of airport, for which you will need Singapore Visa or be eligible for VFTF.

If you can't go out of Changi airport due to time shortage or not eligible for immigration clearance, then your best option is to get into mono rail that connects T2 to T3 and watch the Jewel from the moving train.

Jewel was not operational during early morning

What I didn't knew was that there will be a sound and light show everyday at 8 PM at the Jewel. Watch the full 5 min show video below or Watch on youtube

Extremely cheap tickets to Europe-25k

Update: Check total amount payable on EaseMytrip and other travel sites- some bank offers may reduce total price a 1000-1500 INR cheaper than airline website.

Kuwait Airways has 25k return ticket to Athens from Mumbai for new year period. Available for several dates in Jan and Feb 2024 as well.

Checked bag and food is included, which is a great deal. Kuwait Air operates A320 on these routes, so you will miss widebody experience, but when you are saying 15-20k compared to next best option, it is not a big deal.

If you have visa and if you have free time during year end, this is a killer deal. Earlier I used to see 25k return for 2 stop flights or on WizzAir via AUH. Now on select dates Kuwait Airways has super low fares, probably due to low occupancy and the route passes over the Israel warzone.

December also will be pretty cold in Europe with many attractions closed. So plan well. Jan & Feb are a bit better.

But expect everything else to be expensive in Europe due to year end rush-hotels etc

Changi airport- 2023 updates

 I visited Changi after about 7-8 years. This post shares my findings

#1 Jewel is a new attraction in Changi. To see it up close you have to go out of transit area or watch it from T2 to T3 skytrain. Read a more detailed post on Changi Jewel here

#2 Terminal 4 is now operational

#3 Free city tour now needs you to have visa eligibility

Earlier all transit passengers could take free city tour operated by Changi. Now the rules have changed. You should have Singapore visa or qualify for VFTF to use city tour.

City tour counter is available towards end of T3

#4 Transit hotel in Changi now costs about 22000 INR onwards per room (450 SGD). Cheaper options like just lounge access, sleeping pod, shower etc are available. 

#5 Tiger Air is no more. The low cost airline has been merged with Scoot

#6 Cycle rental: Cycle rental is now available for transit passengers

Similar: Changi challenge * Best place to stay inside Changi  * Unique facilities at Changi * 

Airlines in South Korea

 This post just shares photos of deferent airlines that operate in South Korea.

#1 Korean Air: National airline of South Korea- flew with them on 3 domestic flights. Detailed post here

#2 Asiana Airlines

#3 Jeju Air: Budget airline based in Jeju international airport and flying to various cities mainland South Korea. Their fares are bit cheaper than Korean air/rivals, but as Checked in Bag costs extra we didn't try this airline

#4 Jin air

Jin Air is South Korea's second largest low cost carrier, operating both domestic and internatonal routes

#5 t way

T way is a low cost airline in South Korea, said to be 3rd largest

#6 Eastar

#7 Air Busan

Unfortunately didn't see any of their planes. Saw one military plane

Air India domestic Experience (Nov 2023)

I flew air india after about 2.5 years. Last flight was just before covid- Chennai to Muscat and back in Feb/March 2020. So many things changed after that- Air India got acquired by Tata Group and they have started revamping the airline. I was curious to try the air India now but none of my plans fitted with Air India schedule and pricing.

Recently while returning from South Korea, I saw a 4300 INR flight from Mumbai to Mangaluru on Air India. My original plan was to stay for sometime in Mumbai and take a train to Udupi but the 4300 INR flight ticket was tempting

I save about 1500 on hotel, + 500 odd bucks on auto/taxi from airport to hotel hotel to railway station, another few hundreds on food plus cost of 1 full day spent in travel between Mumbai and Udupi

The 4300 INR air India ticket looked tempting- I don’t have to change terminal- just go from arrival to departure- no taxi spend, flight was just 5 hours away, so I can sleep in airport for a few hours and go to departure-no hotel spend plus 90 min flight vs 16 hours in train- made a decision to buy flight ticket

Wanted to buy on Air India official website but they ask 300 INR extra convenience fee, so booked on Easymytrip.

Same flight is selling for 7500 INR for December.

Did web check in immediately- Air India is also into seat selling now- a random middle seat was free while other seats cost 200-350 INR each. I decided not to pay extra, did a web check-in with a free seat and went to the counter to drop my bag. Thankfully the staff at the check in counter was kind enough to allocate 1A or a first row seat with extra leg room for me.

I was hoping to have some nice meal Air India was famous for. But mine was an early morning flight and just 1 hour 15 mins long, so they only served a paneer roll. Not even tea/coffee. I felt tea/coffee could have been served along with their snacks.

Flight was delayed by an hour citing bad weather at Mangaluru. Eventually took off at around 6.45 and landed by 8 AM. Flight was fine without any issues. Got several notifications on gate change, time change and other things via sms, email etc

Staff have a new uniform now, which looks like neither proper saree they used tower earlier, nor a skirt- some kind of hybrid.

Air India is also changing its logo. The plane I flew had an older logo.

Air India is killing AirAsia India brand. Saw an Air Asia plane with the Air Asia logo removed.

Air India is launching Mumbai-Sydney direct flights for 55000 INR return from December 2023. They also launched a sale for USA return flights for a similar price. Looking forward to see how the airline revamps under Tata Group.

Overall fine experience. Wishing Air India all the success.

Similar: Air India experience in 2014 * Air India experience 2013 * 

Korean Air experience (domestic)

Korean Air is South Korea’s national airline. The airline is about 54 years old and has a fleet of 164 aircrafts connecting South Korean capital Seoul to cities around the world.

Last month I took 3 flights with Korean Air domestic- Busan to Jeju, Jeju to Seoul and Seoul to Busan. This post shares my experience

Why did I choose Korean Air?
When I was looking for an option to fly to Jeju from Busan, Korean Air was not the cheapest. Jeju air was the cheapest- but Jeju air is a budget airline, and will charge extra for checked bags. Korean Air fare included checked bags and food (only juice was given, more later), hence despite being a bit expensive we chose Korean air to avoid the hassle of paying extra for everything.

Korean Air is a skyteam partner along with Air France, KLM. But in India they seem to be flying only to Delhi. Delhi ICN direct flight costs 60000 INR return, while it costs under 40000 on Singapore airline one stop flight via Changi. So it wasn’t an economical option for us. I had visited a Korean air stall in a travel mart event in Mumbai a few years ago and wanted to fly them whenever possible. At least now I’ve flown their domestic flights, if not international.

Ticket purchase experience:
Was able to book South Korea domestic flights from India without any issues- paid via debit card. They have 4-5 different types of fares, and went for the cheapest option available.

I was able to select a seat for no extra cost at the time of purchase, which is good.

I couldn’t give my SQ Krisflyer account for loyalty points. Had to give the Emirates loyalty program number. Got some 470 miles after spending about 12000 INR on Korean Air.  But not sure how to use it- have no plans to fly Emirates as of now.

Web check-in experience:
Korean air web check in opens 24 hours before the flight. Could complete the process within minutes without any issues.

How were the aircrafts?
Flew B737 on 2 legs and A220-300 on Seoul-Busan leg. Aircrafts were fine- no issues. A220 experience was unique- 2 columns in one side, 3 on the other.

Airport baggage drop experience:
For 7 AM flight from Jeju to Seoul, check in counters would open only by 6 AM
After checking in our bags, we need to wait for a few minutes while the airline does a security check of our bags. If good, we can proceed.

Boarding pass is a wafer thin piece of paper

Inflight experience

• Those sitting in the back of the plane will board first.
• Korean Air does have some 8 business class seats on its 737s, no premium economy.
• They keep half a kg worth of inflight magazine and shopping list on 40-50 min domestic flights- no passenger cares about them- they could skip this and save fuel on carrying 100 kg extra material on each flights.
• To reaffirm that they are a full service airline, a glass of juice was served on our Korean Air domestic flights. Orange, apple or tomato juices were the options. No snacks, not even for purchase. Some sandwiches would have been nice.

Ground staff waving us off was a nice experience.

All the flights were on time, bags came to belt fairly quickly and I don't have any complaint as such.

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India USA Return 55k Air India

 Air India has announced a sale, promising India to USA return fare starting 43k INR. I spent some time on Air India official website to figure out which all cities and dates have 43k return fare. The lowest I could find was 55k return BLR to SFO for October 2023. If you try more origin, destination, date combinations you may get lucky and find even cheaper fares.

Looks like Air India planes are going empty, thus a sudden sale to fill up seats. 55k return is the lowest I have seen post covid (I had flown for 48k INR return on Qatar Airways in 2019 between MAA and IAD). Post covid everything got expensive and flights to USA, Canada cost almost a lakh these days under normal conditions. Thus 55k return is a good deal if you already have US visa and can make a quick trip between October and December

I have not flown Air India Ultra long haul flights. It is a hit or miss- even years after Tata took over, we still see periodic complaints about deficiency in services. The longest I have flown Air India is between Chennai and Muscat. If they had a cheap deal to USA/Canada/Europe for mid 2024 I would have booked, but their sale is till Mid December only. Air India has good food, generous baggage allowance and a direct flight saving transit time, which is a plus.

Also read: US Trip on budget

Good luck.

FlyArystan Booking Experience

I had written about the new low cost airline from central asia- Fly Arystan earlier. They had announced one way flight between Delhi and Shymkent (CIT) for about 5000 INR. But the return ticket was around 10-12k, making round trip expensive at around 15-17k INR, so I had not booked any ticket.

A friend, Amar Singh Solanki who runs Lily travels, had booked their ticket and had a successful trip to central Asia, which added to my confidence that I too can try this airline-Fly arystan. Fly Arystan seems to be a subsidiary of Air Asthana.

Recently I noticed that they are no longer selling DEL-CIT ticket. Instead they are selling Delhi to Almaty ticket for low price- managed to spot a return ticket for about 83 USD on their website for several dates in November/Dec 2023 as well as Feb/March 2024.

This time I decided to book. But to my surprise their payment page was failing. I couldn’t make a payment so the process came to a halt.

Anyone managed to book a ticket on @FlyArystan ? pic.twitter.com/9ddLIxbWPC

— Shrinidhi Hande (@enidhi) September 20, 2023

I wrote a mail to their support team, giving my intended ticket details and asking for a payment link (That is how it worked with Lufthansa-Swiss Air last year for me)

Later Amar Singh Solanki told me I can book via Cleartrip. On Cleartrip the total amount payable was some 500 INR more, but at least I could pay, book and get a confirmed ticket.

After 5 days the support team replied, asking me to check with my bank, while the issue is on their side- there was no option to select bank or card or anything- payment page itself was not opening. Anyway I had booked ticket through cleartrip so didn’t brother to respond.

Now that ticket is booked, I need to prepare for my trip- got another 6 months- have to see how to manage with 5 kg cabin bag limitation. Wish me luck.

Flyarystan website seems to be managed by Kiwi- I tried to sign up so that I can get cheap deals but now I have ended up signing up for Kiwi and will have to deal with them spam mails now.

Akasa Air First Impressions

I had my first flight with Akasa air this month. That is pretty late- Akasa air was inaugurated several months ago but I didn't have a chance earlier. They don't fly to Mangaluru and I couldn't force fit a flight n spend money just for the sake of it.

As I was checking prices for Lucknow, when I saw a 3500 Rs one way ticket I decided to plan a trip. At that time GoFirst had cheapest tickets- like 2200 INR but better sense prevailed and I decided NOT to go with GoFirst. Indigo also had a flight, similar time, similar price, decided to try Akasa.

Ticket booking experience:

My original preference was to book directly on Akasa Air website, but they were charging 350 INR extra as convenience fee, so I had to eventually book on Easemytrip to save some 700 INR round trip.

While I got BLR-Lucknow for 3500, return from Varanasi to BLR cost me 6500. Other option was to travel back to Lucknow and take cheaper flight but that would cost time and money to reach Lucknow, so decided to spend.

After booking Akasa Air kept spamming me regularly, advertising their 10% discount in base fare, convenience fee less booking on app and other things. I summarily ignored them and blocked them on WhatsApp for irritating me.

Web Check-in

Can be done 48 hours before. Akasa air gives an option to auto assign seat or pay for seat selection. I opted for auto assign seat- this experience was better than Indigo. I got email and SMS that my web check in is done, seat allocation will be done 6 hours prior. I got prompt SMS and email with my boarding pass.

This web check in experience was much better compared to Indigo- Indigo doesn't send any acknowledgement if you don't pay for seats and seat allocation will be done just 3 hours prior. We will have no proof that we've done web check in. When I tweeted this Indigo social media support called and acknowledged the same.

I was auto assigned middle seat on both occasions, but at airport check in counter I could request for a seat change without paying extra. Got exit row seats both time. Row 16 had reclining seats but row 15 don't have reclining seats. Indigo wouldn't give exit row seat to anyone unless they pay. Also their flights are almost always full, so chance of changing a seat- particularly window or aisle last minute-is very low.

Flight Experience:

Akasa air gate opening time is full 1 hour prior to departure time- I don't know why they open the gate so soon. I can understand for first flight of the day, but for other flights opening gate even before inbound flight lands makes no sense.

BLR Lucknow was first flight of the day and operated 10-15 mins earlier than scheduled.  Service was good. This aircraft didn't have any USB charging ports but the return flight had one. Most of Akasa Air's planes are new, compared to rivals who have 10-15 year older aircrafts-Akasa seat back had a placeholder for mobile phones- easy to keep your phone there and watch video while USB port ensures you won't run out of charge.

Varanasi-BLR flight was an evening one, had about 20-30 minutes delay. Both the flights were fairly loaded.

Due to sudden resignation of 43+ pilots, Akasa had to cancel over 700 flights in September. I felt lucky both my flights operated without issues.

Onboard purchases

I ordered Upma for my return journey- costs 250 INR (includes a drink). The taste was fine but quantity is just one third of the box. Got one Kombucha as well. (if purchased individually onboard Upma costs 200 INR and Kombucha 150)

Kombucha is Akasa signature mango drink- I thought it is pure mango juice, but it is not. It has some gas in it and didn't have essence of Mango. Felt like Mango flavored sprite. Won't buy again.

 

Akasa Air Summary

Good things

- Newer planes with USB charging

- Better web check-in process compared to Indigo

- Good inflight food menu for purchase

- Both my flights were fine with no issues

- International flights soon

- Very responsive social media team

- Free seat change at airport counter

To be improved

- Boarding 1 hour in advance feels too much

- Airline needs to come out of pilot shortage issue

- Yet to reach many airports like Mangaluru

Hope they resolve their pilot issue. With Go Air gone, Akasa will have to compete with two giants- Indigo that has huge market share and Tata Group looking to consolidate Air India, Vistara, Air Asia and Air India Express. The founder Rakesh Junjunwala is no more and former Jet Airways head Vinay Dube is leading Akasa. Will look forward to flying more with Akasa.

Cheap Food at Bengaluru Airport Nandi Upachar

If you are worried about super expensive food inside Bengaluru airport (Coffee/Tea : 250 INR+, Masala Dosa 500 INR and so on),there is one cheaper option

Nandi Upachar outside Bengaluru international airport.

Nandi Upachar is located near Vayu Vajra bus bay in terminal one of BIAL. 

Nani Upachar rates are as below- 145 INR for Masala Dosa, 125 INR for Bisi bele bath and so on

It is not cheap-2x compared to city prices, but one third of inside airport cost. Even outside the airport their rental cost must be pretty high, forcing them to price their food higher. Nandi upachar has got some seating place, but no AC. 

So if you couldn't have your food in city before leaving for airport, you can grad some before entering the airport. If you are arriving passenger, you can spare some time, grad a bite and then board your bus or taxi.

Similar: Mangaluru airport food cost * 

Varanasi city to Airport-cheapest options

How to reach Varanasi airport from city or vice versa?

Varanasi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri international airport is 20-25 kms from city center, hence hiring a taxi to reach there will set you back by about 1000 INR easily. But not all passengers are keen to spend so much and look for cheaper alternatives even if it is a bit inconvenient. If you have time, if you are ok to try public transportation, you can save lots of money. Sharing my experience

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Best option: Airport to city AC Bus: E101, E102 Electric AC mini buses ply between Varanasi airport and Varanasi Cantt (Cantonment area near railway station, main city center for Varanasi). However the frequency is poor. I waited at Cantt for over 30 mins but didn’t see a single bus to the airport. If you are OK to wait 30+ minutes you can wait for this bus, which operates during day time. Early morning/night flights don’t rely on this

Next best option- intercity buses passing through Babatpur:

Varanasi airport is in a town called Babatpur. Airport is about 1.2 kms from the highway. Many long distance buses going to Jaunpur, Lucknow pass through Babatpur. Few city buses also ply till Babatpur. You can get into these buses and get down close to airport. Confirm once before boarding.

Last 1 km- from highway to Varanasi airport you can walk or hire an auto

Option 3: Share autos

If you scout around in Cantt area, some auto drivers are happy to operate a share auto towards airport. Instead of asking 500-600 rupee from one person, they try to get hold of 4-5 people heading towards airport/babatpur, collect 100-150 rupee from each person. I was trying for a bus but one auto driver consistently pestered me- initially I refused- later he said he has got other passengers to go on sharing basis, I can join by just paying 100 rupees. As I wasn’t getting bus I thought 100 rupees for 20 kms is NOT bad, I can try this.

Auto driver got a few long distance (city to airport) and few short distance customers- got 80, 15, 20, 150, 100, 40 etc from different customers and made some 500 rupees by the time he reached the airport. I am sure he will manage to get another set of customers on his way back to the city and make a cool 1000 rupees on the 50 kms trip.

All these options work if you have light bags, have enough time and comfortable with bit of walking, using shared public transport. In return you will save 100s of rupees otherwise spent on taxi rental. You can treat yourself to some nice food onboard or save this money for future travel.

if nothing works, ask your hotel to arrange a taxi

Flew AirAsia after 4.5 years

Flew AirAsia Malaysia again after 4.5 years. My last flight was to Brunei in 2019 Jan.

After that I had a set of tickets- AMD-KUL for 502 INR, Vizag to Australia, Kuala Lumpur to Cambodia & Laos, world's cheapest flight ticket ever for 200 INR,  and many more- all got cancelled due to covid. 

There was an issue viewing Air Asia International website after Air Asia India and Air Asia Malaysia separated. Indian customers didn't have a way to view their international tickets, refund credits etc. It was a mess for sometime. Finally sometime in 2022 this got sorted. I had got some credit points for covid time cancelled flights, which I didn't know by when it would expire. Because I couldn't fly out of India I couldn't take many of the flights originating from Malaysia which were not cancelled- so I didn't get refund for them. Got credits only for flights in and out of India.

So armed with some 15k worth points, I booked a short trip to Thailand for 3 days, just to use this. 

Thailand trip means having to spend about 4500 INR on Visa on Arrival, plus another 8-10k in other expenses- stay, local travel, sim card, food, travel from home to BLR etc for 3 days. So around 22-25k was spent.

I was excited to check what all has changed in AirAsia in recent times. Summary: Nothing much. Thai Air Asia was same as earlier- almost on time performance, basic services of a budget airline. Below are my observations:

Best food options for vegetarians are this Hyd Biryani, Thai Panang Curry with Rice or Noodles. Rice bowl costs 180 Baht (420 INR) each. 

Similar rice products are available for 50 to 70 baht at 7Eleven store at DMK airport, if you can wait.

Check in was fine. Because of Visa on Arrival, staff checked if I have cash, hotel booking and return ticket. Cabin bag was not weighed. Boarding was fine, they do zone wise, but that is only limited from gate to bus- then everyone is mixed 

Both my onward and return flights were on time.

Indians' behavior on international flights remains unchanged. Few passengers who were sitting in extra leg room seats without paying were made to go back by staff.

Visa on arrival was smooth- took about 20 odd minutes as crowd was less at the time of my landing. As I completed formalities by 5-5.15 AM but buses wouldn't start so early. had to wait for an hour for public transport to begin- took bus to my stay- Bangkok's cheapest hostel- PLOY

Return trip was smooth as well.

My only concern is the pricing. Now everything costing 3x-4x compared to pre-covid. Hopefully Air Asia will revert to cheaper tickets and I can plan more trips. Let us see.

VietJet is back with 0 Rupee tickets that cost 14k

 ViejtJet Air is back with their low fare promos, except that it seems like a fraud.

Last year VietJet sold several tickets from BLR and HYD and then cancelled all flights. They haven't resumed operation from Blr and Hyd yet as of August 2023.

But VietJet Air has announced flights from Trichy in Tamil Nadu to Saigon (SGN) Vietnam. Ticket price: Zero!

The tickets are free but you've to pay around 7000 INR in taxes and fees. Return ticket also free but after factoring taxes and charges, you can get a return ticket for about 14000 INR. Which is a decent deal if you are located around Trichy and wish to expore Vietnam, as any other airline would mean minimum one stop flight and would definitely cost more than 14k to buy a return ticket.

Only that I don't know how much to trust VietJet- will they operate as planned or will cancel last minute?

If Trichy was close to me maybe I would have taken a chance and book, but not thinking right now. My time and cost of reaching Tiruchirapalli will also have to be factored.

Flights from Kochi to Saigon (HCMC) are also announced but I don't see any super cheap fares.

My Sep 2022 flight from Mumbai to Phu Quoc was decent. Full experience here

Need to wait and see if they operate flights from these new cities as promissed or will cancel after collecting lots of ticket money. 

If you wish to take a chance you can try!

Indigo BOM Nairobi (Kenya) 28k return

Indigo has launched Mumbai to Kenya direct flight. On very select date combinations you can book a return ticket for 28-29k INR, which is a reasonable fare for a 6 hour one way flight.

Unfortunately Indigo has decided to keep the price much higher for the coming months. I was trying to book for some dates in 2024 but the prices are going upward of 40k INR. I am not in a mood to commit 40-44k for a 6 hour flight to Africa 6 to 9 months in advance as there is a very high chance that the price will come down closer to the travel date if the plane is empty. Or I might get a better deal with other airlines in the coming months.

Not sure what Indigo is thinking. They have launched several international flights in recent times but the pricing is high. For example, their Bengaluru-London 2 stop flight via Delhi & Istanbul costs more than British Airways direct flight between BLR and LHR. Why would anyone book low cost carrier Indigo for a higher price and spend 2x more travel time?

For now I will wait and watch. Let us see what happens. I do not have any compulsion to go to Africa. Will plan only if I spot a cheap deal.

What are your thoughts?