Virus fear brings airfares down

Airlines see a drop of up to 60 per cent in bookings to China and countries in Southeast Asia

Airfares from Bengaluru to destinations in China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia have dipped in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

A round trip to Bangkok cost Rs 45,600 in November 2019 but as of Thursday, it was just Rs 11,008.

A one-way trip from Bengaluru to Bangkok this weekend starts at Rs 6,115. The cheapest fare to Singapore now is Rs 6,414. A round trip to Shanghai (Feb 25-March 3) comes for Rs 27,444 on SriLankan Airlines, and Rs 32,920 on Thai Airlines.

Singapore Airlines connects Bengaluru with Wuhan, the epicentre of the epidemic, for Rs 39,605 (round trip, Feb 25-March 3). Skyscanner, a site that
aggregates air tickets, has put out a notice saying some airports in the region may be closed, or functional with restrictions.

From Bengaluru to Kuala Lumpur, fares start at Rs 7,233 this weekend. The lowest fare is Rs 5,986 on March 2.

“At Cleartrip, we have observed a drop of 30 to 60 per cent in bookings to China and countries in Southeast Asia since the virus outbreak. The region is a large part of travel plans for Indians in general, and if the epidemic is not contained, we expect to see many looking for alternatives,” says Balu Ramachandran, senior vice president. Amid the fear, the cruise and aviation industries are facing the most adverse impact. Many flights to and from China are being cancelled. Indigo and Air India have waived trip cancellation fees when it comes to flights to some Southeast Asian countries.

Worldwide scare

The coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak has impacted more than 70,000 people globally with more than 2,000 reported deaths in China alone. In the wake of the scare, the Indian government is screening passengers landing from infected countries.

Mask sellers cash in on fear
In the aftermath of the Coronavirus (now called COVID-19) outbreak, the demand for surgical masks skyrocketed, with China alone importing billions of these masks for its citizens. Surgical mask makers in India are scrambling to meet the increased international and local demand but with the government setting aside the ban on export of some personal protection equipment, it is being said that most of the higher quality masks are being shipped overseas. This has lead to reports of sub-standard quality surgical masks flooding the Indian market, the effectiveness of which in battling the virus is suspect anyway.

Data shared by All Food and Drug License Holders Foundation, which represents 7,000 pharmaceutical suppliers from across the country, estimated a nearly 100 percent jump in the face mask market in India.

The upward revision of prices of these products has been swift and steep in the domestic market itself. The average cost of manufacturing a N95 mask is pegged to be about Rs 10-12. The mask is now sold at Rs 400.

A larger margin awaited those who ship off their wares to China, Malaysia and Singapore, according to reports.

There are fears about an impeding shortage of such masks here, which has caused more people to stock up on and hoard these. The sales of other items, like sanitisers and gloves, has also increased substantially.