Travel booking giant MakeMyTrip has introduced a new feature called 'Seat Availability Forecast', which offers users a predictive view of how soon seats on a selected train may sell out. According to the Gurugram-based company, internal data indicates that nearly 40 per cent of users book train tickets over multiple sessions, often over several days.
Among these users, close to 70 per cent end up booking waitlisted tickets, simply because confirmed seats are no longer available by the time their plans firm up.
Reserved train tickets in India open for booking 60 days ahead of departure. However, most travellers only finalise their plans much closer to the date, MakeMyTrip stated. "With demand patterns varying significantly from week to week, the window for confirmed bookings keeps shifting. In April, most high-speed trains were sold out around 13 days before the departure date. By May, due to rising demand, they were typically booked out more than 20 days before departure," the NASDAQ-listed company said.
New feature is live on MakeMyTrip app and website
MakeMyTrip noted that travelers often know which train they want to book but lack a reliable estimate of how long seats will remain available, making timely planning difficult.
To address this, the new Seat Availability Forecast feature is now live on both the MakeMyTrip app and website, seamlessly integrated into the train booking process to help users make more informed and timely decisions.
"We are focused on our mission to anticipate and address the nuanced needs of Indian rail passengers. Seat Availability Forecast is a result of that effort, rooted in data science, built to be seamless, and designed to solve a real planning challenge for millions of users. It is a strong addition to our rail stack, which helps make train travel more predictable and less stressful across the board," Rajesh Magow, Co-founder and Group CEO of MakeMyTrip, said.
(With PTI inputs)
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