MALAPPURAM: Ahead of the Christmas season, travel agencies are booking flight tickets in droves, fuelling the increase in ticket prices to and from the Gulf. Ticket prices from Gulf to Kerala have increased fivefold for Christmas.

Airlines have negotiated fares with agencies months in advance and will give away half of the tickets under the guise of group tickets. With this, the number of tickets on the websites will decrease and the demand will increase. For the remaining tickets, the companies can increase the fare as they see fit. It is also not possible to book tickets in advance expecting a discount.

The reserved tickets are released by the travel agencies when the season starts. Agencies will pay up to 1,000 rupees less than the sites but they will get many times more profit. This strategy of the agencies is during Onam, Eid, Christmas and Summer season.

Passengers want to increase services during the season or use bigger planes with more seats. Group bookings of agencies should also be regulated. 65,000 seats have been allotted per week from India to UAE. There will be around one lakh passengers during the season. Airlines in the UAE are interested in additional services. It has to get permission from the central government.

Airlines are less interested in operating charter services as they focus more on domestic routes. The position of the companies is that the rate should cover the loss of service interruption. It will also increase the fares on chartered flights. Passenger information should be provided in advance while chartering. Ticket cancellation is not allowed. Expatriate organizations do not take the initiative for this as all this would lead to a financial burden.