Kolkata: Businessmen and corporate executives are going to extraordinary lengths to avoid the war zone while travelling to attend meetings in the US.While fares on carriers, such as Emirates and Etihad, which have hubs in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, are currently low due to the oversupply situation, as demand remains low amid the war across the region, business travellers are opting to either fly direct on European and American carriers or fly eastward via the Pacific Ocean if seats are unavailable on direct flights from Delhi, Mumbai or Bengaluru.A corporate executive in a multinational corporation has booked a business class ticket to Los Angeles on Singapore Airlines on March 21 for Rs 9 lakh instead of travelling via Dubai or Abu Dhabi. The economy class return fare in the first week of April via New York and Delhi is a little over Rs 2 lakh.“On March 21, no economy class seat was available on Singapore Airlines or any other carrier via the east. On a Gulf carrier, the ticket price would have been Rs 1.5 lakh but businessmen and corporate executives are unwilling to risk travelling through the zone as missile and drone attacks are leading to airspace and airport closures and severely disrupting travel itineraries. There is a real fear of getting stranded if the war escalates,” said Travel Agent Federation of India chairman (east) Anil Punjabi.A businessman from Kolkata who has to urgently travel to San Diego was quoted a fare of Rs 3.4 lakh for April 5 via Delhi and Frisco. A day earlier, the fare was Rs 10,000 less.Direct one-way fares to Europe that were Rs 40,000-50,000 prior to the war have shot up to Rs 2 lakh-plus. “Travelling has become especially challenging for students and those visiting friends and relatives. They are the ones taking the risk and travelling via the Gulf,” said Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) member Manav Soni.While Emirates Airlines has started operating at least eight-nine out of the 11 weekly flights to Kolkata, Etihad Airways is operating six flights a week, with FlyDubai and Air Arabia also flying two-three flights a week. Qatar Airways has started limited operations from March 17 to Delhi, Mumbai and Kochi but is yet to announce flights to Kolkata.It is not only the fares for flights to the US via the east that have shot up. Even fares to destinations in Southeast Asia have gone up by 20%-25%. “It is leisure travel to Southeast Asia, the only place where people are heading for holidays, that has led to the fare rise. But demand remains muted,” said TAAI chairman (east) Anjani Dhanuka.
