Pune: Flyers seeking pocket-friendly direct flight deals to Dubai are taking the Mumbai route after SpiceJet temporarily suspended its service from Pune to the United Arab Emirates city, pushing up fares of a couple of other carriers operating in the sector.Kondhwa Khurd’s Shafiq Ashraf Sheikh, an autorickshaw driver, recently booked a Mumbai-Dubai flight for his brother after finding fares from Pune unaffordable. “IndiGo’s one-way fare from Pune was Rs24,000. We found many direct flights from Mumbai with fares Rs15,000-18,000 per person and booked one,” he said.Launched in 2015, the SpiceJet Pune-Dubai flight’s fare used to be Rs13,000-14,000 per person. Pune has two other direct services to the UAE — IndiGo’s daily flight to Dubai and Air India Express’s Abu Dhabi service thrice a week.Confirming the suspension of Pune-Dubai service, a SpiceJet spokesperson told TOI that the flight SG-51 was temporarily unavailable because of operational reasons and would resume in mid-October. Flight-tracking website Flightradar indicated that the service was suspended over 10 days ago. Travel portals showed bookings resuming from Oct 17.The suspended flight was scheduled to depart from Pune at 21.00 IST and reach Dubai at 00.25 IST. The return flight, SG-52, would take off from Dubai at 01.35 IST and land in Pune at 04.30 IST.“The SpiceJet flight remained popular among flyers because of the fare factor despite frequent delays, sometimes running into several hours. We have been told that the service would resume soon,” a Pune airport official said.The fare difference is even steeper for urgent travel. Katraj entrepreneur Raviraj Singh, who has to fly to Dubai on Friday, found IndiGo’s one-way fare to be Rs51,000. He opted for a Mumbai departure instead.IndiGo’s Pune-Dubai flight departs at 00.25 IST and reaches Dubai around 03.30 IST. Its return service leaves Dubai at 19.25 IST and lands in Pune at 22.40 IST.Singh said, “I am staying with a relative in Mumbai and will take a flight booked for Rs17,800. Several airlines, including SpiceJet, IndiGo, Air India Express and Emirates, operate direct services from Mumbai at lower fares. Why should I pay Rs51,000 for a flight?”Santosh Gupta, owner of Shree Vinayak Holidays, said the demand for UAE travel from Mumbai had increased. “Mumbai offers numerous flights to the UAE. Greater competition keeps fares relatively low. We have clients looking to fly to the UAE from Mumbai. Those travelling with families are stressing more on the same,” he said.
