New Delhi, Oct. 31 -- If you are planning a winter holiday, get ready to pay eye-watering airfares. Domestic fares are 30% to 40% higher than a year ago, according to Yatra Online, as expensive fuel, a weaker rupee, and reduced flight capacity push up travel costs.

For example, a family of four flying from Delhi to Goa in the second half of December would spend roughly Rs.1 lakh on return tickets alone, even before booking hotels or accounting for local transport.

Travellers are responding by changing destinations, moving dates or taking the train. One couple who swapped Bali for Kerala saved Rs.90,000 on flights alone. Another traveller, faced with steep fares to fly her parents from Kolkata to Mumbai for their annual visit, turned the...