# Travellers swap flights for road trips as airfares surge 30 to 40% 2026-11-10T14:00:31+00:00 | Business & Economy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Domestic airfares have risen 30 to 40% in one year due to higher aviation fuel costs, a weaker rupee and constrained flight capacity, according to Yatra Online. Travellers are responding by swapping flights for trains and road trips, and choosing domestic destinations over international ones for their winter holidays. Delhi-based UI/UX designer Tobit Pinto plans to drive to Goa in his SUV, stopping in Indore and Nashik, instead of paying over Rs 30,000 per person for a return flight. He estimates the road trip will cost Rs 46,000 to 70,000 for three people, against nearly Rs 1 lakh for return flights alone. Mumbai-based Neerav Shah has built a five-day December itinerary around trains, combining a cricket match in Ahmedabad and tiger safaris at Ranthambore, for under Rs 25,000. Yatra Online's executive vice president Bharatt Malik said he expects travellers to book earlier, take shorter trips and consider destinations within driving distance of major cities. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The story shows how a 30 to 40% fare hike is reshaping travel patterns, not just budgets. For Pinto and Shah, the constraint of higher airfares has redirected spending toward road and rail, making the journey itself part of the holiday. The trade-off is clear: more time and physical effort for lower costs, especially when vehicle expenses are shared. The practical challenge remains train availability during the year-end rush, which forced Shah into a multi-leg booking. Whether this substitution holds depends on how many travellers can absorb the extra travel time and whether train capacity meets the diverted demand. ## Coverage - livemint.com Leads with traveller anecdotes and fare data without editorialising This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Bharatt Malik, Goa, Ranthambore National Park, Yatra Online Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/travellers-swap-flights-for-road-trips-as-airfares-surge-30-to-40/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/travellers-swap-flights-for-road-trips-as-airfares-surge-30-to-40/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/