On the morning of September 16, 2026, advertised fares across 54 domestic routes showed that booking a flight a day before departure cost 120.5 per cent more on Ahmedabad to Pune than booking 30 days in advance.
This was the steepest premium recorded in the analysis. At the other end of the spectrum, Bengaluru to Chennai fares were only 2.9 per cent higher when booked a day before departure than when booked 30 days ahead.
The chart shows the additional cost of booking a day before departure instead of 30 days in advance across the routes analysed.
Extra cost of booking a day ahead instead of 30 days in advance.
How the index works
The TOI-DPA Airline Price Index sets each route's day-before fare at 100 and measures every other booking time against it. A 30-day index of 45.4 on Ahmedabad to Pune means the fare booked 30 days in advance was 45.4 per cent of the day-before fare. In other words, a traveller booking a month ahead pays roughly half what someone booking a day before departure pays.
The percentages in this story are derived from the index, which is calculated over a longer period rather than from a single morning's snapshot alone.
Routes where waiting costs the most
Five routes stood out for their steep last-minute premiums among the 54 routes tracked.
Ahmedabad to Pune recorded the largest gap: booking 30 days ahead saved 54.6 per cent compared with the day-before fare, while waiting until the day before departure meant paying 120.5 per cent more.
Kolkata to Chennai ranked second, with a 112.7 per cent premium for booking a day before departure and a 53.0 per cent saving for booking 30 days ahead. The route operates three flights a day in that direction and five on the return leg.
Route | Extra for booking day before (%) | Saving for booking 30 days ahead (%) | Flights per day (outbound) |
Ahmedabad to Pune | 120.5 | 54.6 | 3 |
Kolkata to Chennai | 112.7 | 53.0 | 3 |
Kolkata to Bengaluru | 93.2 | 48.2 | 9 |
Kolkata to Hyderabad | 90.0 | 47.4 | 3 |
Hyderabad to Bengaluru | 86.6 | 46.4 | 11 |
Routes where waiting costs the least
Three routes showed the smallest differences between fares booked 30 days ahead and those booked a day before departure. Bengaluru to Chennai had an index of 97.2 at 30 days, meaning the advance fare was 97.2 per cent of the day-before fare. The premium for waiting was just 2.9 per cent, while booking in advance saved 2.8 per cent. The route operates 10 flights a day outbound and seven on the return leg.
Mumbai to Delhi, with 24 flights a day outbound and 55 on the return leg, had a 6.9 per cent premium for booking a day before departure rather than 30 days ahead. Pune to Delhi recorded a premium of 7.2 per cent.
On these three routes, booking time made relatively little difference to the advertised fares in this capture.
What should you keep in mind?
Booking 30 days ahead rather than a day before departure could save 54.6 per cent on Ahmedabad to Pune, but only 2.8 per cent on Bengaluru to Chennai. The benefit of planning ahead therefore varies considerably by route.
On high-frequency corridors such as Mumbai to Delhi and Bengaluru to Chennai, the fare curve was nearly flat. On routes with fewer daily flights, the curve was steeper. However, these figures represent advertised fares and medians, not the amounts individual passengers ultimately paid. Fares quoted on a particular morning can also change.
About this data
All fares were captured on the morning of September 16, 2026. The figures represent advertised fares and medians across routes, not the amounts passengers ultimately paid. Fares quoted at the time of capture may change.
The data does not identify which airline charged each fare, so it cannot establish which carriers set the prices. Fare data for Mumbai to Pune and Pune to Mumbai was unavailable in this capture.
The percentages are derived from the tracker's fare-time index, which is calculated over a longer period than a single morning's snapshot. Flight counts vary between captures, so the number of daily flights on each route should be treated as approximate.
The 54-route picture on September 16, 2026, reveals two distinct patterns in domestic airfares: routes where the day-before fare is roughly double the 30-day fare and routes where the two are nearly identical.
Ahmedabad to Pune and Kolkata to Chennai fall firmly into the first category, while Mumbai to Delhi and Bengaluru to Chennai belong to the second. The route, not just the timing of the booking, determines how much a last-minute ticket costs.
The TOI-DPA Airline Price Index is a joint initiative of The Times of India and Decimal Point Analytics.Source: Decimal Point Analytics Airline Price Index