3 weeks ago
Cleartrip spreads wings beyond air tickets amid fuel price volatility
Cleartrip is a website where people book airplane tickets and trips.
Lately, flying has become very expensive in India.
One reason is a conflict between the United States and Iran near a very important waterway.
That waterway is called the Strait of Hormuz, and many ships carrying fuel sail through it.
When fuel gets expensive, airplanes cost more to fly.
So Cleartrip wants to sell more bus, hotel, and train tickets instead.
Bus and hotel tickets can earn the company more money than airplane tickets.
Cleartrip also started offering train tickets with a group called IRCTC.
It wants to get nearly half of its money from these other services by next year.
It hopes to stop losing money by early 2027.
Cleartrip is late compared to competitors like MakeMyTrip, but experts believe there is still room to grow.
Cleartrip plans to raise non-air verticals' revenue share to 40-45% by next year, up from about 10% in 2025.
Air fares have risen 20-22% over the past year amid US-Iran tensions over the Strait of Hormuz and swings in crude and jet fuel costs.
The government and oil companies set up a ₹10,000 crore ATF Price Stabilization Fund to shield scheduled Indian airlines and passengers from jet fuel volatility.
Cleartrip aims to break even by early 2027, as air ticketing margins are lower than hotels (18-20%) and bus bookings (10-12%).
Cleartrip launched Bus 2.0 covering 650,000+ routes and partnered with IRCTC for rail bookings, but faces competition from MakeMyTrip, which controls about 60% of the OTA segment.
- Who
- Flipkart-owned travel platform Cleartrip, led by chief growth & business officer Manjari Singhal, along with competitors like MakeMyTrip and ixigo.
- What
- Cleartrip is shifting its revenue mix from air ticketing toward non-air verticals such as buses, hotels, and trains amid volatile jet fuel prices.
- Where
- India, focused on Bengaluru-based Cleartrip; the fare pressure stems from the US-Iran conflict and tussle over the Strait of Hormuz.
- When
- Reported in 2026, with Bus 2.0 launched earlier this week and the IRCTC rail partnership announced in April; Cleartrip targets break-even by early 2027.
- Why
- Air fares rose 20-22% over the past year due to crude and jet fuel volatility, making air ticketing low-margin and highly competitive for OTAs.
Too Late to the Party?
Space for More
Late entry into non-air verticals
Too Late to the Party?
Cleartrip admits it is late: MakeMyTrip already controls about 60% of the OTA segment and dominates online bus and hotel bookings, while ixigo holds a strong foothold in train bookings; Cleartrip's earlier bus and train attempts were non-starters.
Space for More
Experts say there is still room to grow: the online travel market is estimated at $31.3 billion in FY26, offline players still hold about 55% share, and online penetration is only ~33% in hotels and ~30% in buses, leaving headroom for new entrants.
Competitive advantages
Too Late to the Party?
Entering crowded verticals where rivals have operated for a long time makes differentiation hard, and success will depend on frictionless offerings and smarter discovery and UI features.
Space for More
Cleartrip has access to Flipkart's userbase of more than 300 million, the second-largest hotel inventory in the space (60,000-70,000), and loyalty programs to attract core Flipkart users.
Key facts
- Company
- Cleartrip (Flipkart-owned; founded 2006, acquired 2021)
- Non-air revenue target
- 40-45% by next year, up from ~10% in 2025
- Airfare increase
- 20-22% over the past year
- ATF Price Stabilization Fund
- ₹10,000 crore
- Break-even target
- Early 2027
- Bus 2.0 coverage
- 650,000+ routes across 6,000+ cities
- Take rates
- Air 7-8% gross / 4-5% net; bus 10-12%; hotels 18-20%
- Competition
- MakeMyTrip controls ~60% of the OTA segment; online travel market estimated at $31.3 billion in FY26 (VIDEC)
Quotes
Premchand Chandrasekharan
Partner, Avalon Consulting
“Expanding into hotels, buses, trains, holiday packages, and travel ancillaries can help improve margins, reduce risk, and increase customer expenditure share”
financialexpress.com
“We feel there is still scope to grow in non‑air verticals especially the bus booking space where online adoption is the least in India”
financialexpress.com
Sources
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