Expensive Flights: Why They Happen and How to Avoid Them
When you see a flight price that makes you pause, you're not imagining it—expensive flights, airfare that rises far beyond typical rates due to seasonality, route scarcity, or last-minute demand are real, and they’re more common than you think. They don’t just happen on routes to Paris or Tokyo. Even domestic trips in India, like Delhi to Goa or Bengaluru to Leh, can suddenly cost double what they did a month ago. This isn’t about greed—it’s about supply, timing, and how airlines predict who will pay more.
What makes a flight expensive isn’t just the distance. It’s the travel season, the time of year when demand surges, like holidays, festivals, or monsoon breaks. Think Diwali in North India or Christmas in Goa. During these times, airlines know people will pay extra to be home or on a beach. Then there’s the route monopoly, when only one or two airlines fly a specific path, giving them control over pricing. Routes like Srinagar to Delhi or Agartala to Kolkata have fewer options, so prices stay high. And don’t forget the last-minute booking, the habit of waiting until the week before to buy, which almost always means paying more. Airlines use algorithms that track your searches—if you keep checking the same flight, they’ll nudge the price up.
But here’s the good part: expensive flights aren’t your only option. Most people don’t realize that flying mid-week, avoiding major holidays, or even switching airports can cut costs by 30% or more. A flight from Bengaluru to Pune might cost ₹8,000 on a Friday, but just ₹4,500 on a Tuesday. You don’t need to book six months ahead—sometimes seven days is enough. And if you’re flexible, you might find a better deal by flying into a nearby city and taking a train or bus the rest of the way. The same logic applies to international trips: instead of flying direct to London, try Frankfurt or Amsterdam, then take a budget train. These aren’t hacks—they’re simple, proven choices that travelers who’ve been there already use.
What you’ll find below are real stories and breakdowns from people who’ve dealt with sky-high airfare and still made their trips work. From budgeting for a two-week trip across South India to understanding why some flights cost more than a luxury train ticket, these posts give you the practical, no-fluff truth. No theory. No guesswork. Just what actually works when money’s tight and time’s short.
