MakeMyTrip reported gross bookings of $2.7 billion for its fiscal second quarter ended September 30, 2026, marking a 20.9 percent increase year over year on a constant-currency basis. Adjusted operating profit reached $46.2 million. The results came amid a notable softening in India's domestic air travel market, which the company is using to deepen its push into hotels, buses, cabs and packages.
Air Travel Remains the Soft Spot
Domestic air departures in India fell 7 percent year over year in the quarter, while international departures dropped 4 percent. Fares rose roughly 25 to 30 percent amid supply constraints and higher fuel costs. MakeMyTrip maintained more than 30 percent share of the domestic air-ticketing market and performed better than the overall market in international air ticketing. Air remains a key engagement point for customers, but its contribution to the overall mix continued to shrink.
Non-air businesses made up 63.2 percent of gross bookings in the quarter, up from 61.5 percent a year earlier. Hotels and packages now represent about 40 percent of the business. Standalone hotel room nights grew 18.6 percent, with domestic room nights rising more than 20 percent. The shift reflects travelers opting for shorter, drivable domestic trips, pilgrimage travel and celebrations rather than canceling plans altogether.
Broader Context of Market Pressures
The air travel dip follows similar softness reported in prior quarters. Geopolitical tensions in West Asia, a weaker rupee and elevated international fares have weighed on outbound demand. Earlier in 2026, MakeMyTrip and peers noted sequential declines in air ticketing revenue and shifts toward domestic and Southeast Asian alternatives. Travelers priced out of flights have increasingly turned to road transport, with luxury bus and intercity cab bookings growing between 30 and 40 percent in some periods.
India's online travel sector has seen this pattern across multiple operators. High fares and constrained capacity have prompted a reallocation of spending rather than outright cancellation of trips. MakeMyTrip's diversified platform has allowed it to capture demand in ground transport and accommodations where volumes remain resilient.
Strategic Emphasis on Diversification
Company leadership has repeatedly highlighted that the bigger long-term opportunity lies beyond flights. Hotels and packages, bus ticketing and other services delivered strong margin expansion in the latest quarter. Adjusted margins grew across segments, with bus ticketing rising 29 percent year over year in constant currency and hotels and packages up 20.2 percent.
The company continues to expand its supply network. Its domestic accommodation portfolio exceeded 105,000 properties across more than 2,000 Indian cities. Directly contracted international hotels reached 40,000 properties, up 30 percent from a year earlier. Partnerships with global hotel groups are part of efforts to strengthen outbound offerings for Indian travelers, similar to other platform integrations in the rewards space such as Amex Travel’s Airbnb Integration Raises Questions for Expedia Partnership.
Technology and Future Outlook
MakeMyTrip is investing in artificial intelligence to improve conversion and service. Its Myra assistant handled more than 90,000 daily conversations in the quarter and supported over 3,000 bookings per day. Semantic search features for hotels and homestays allow natural-language queries, improving discovery especially in non-metro markets.
The company holds a strong balance sheet with roughly $815 million in cash and has initiated steps toward an IPO of its Indian subsidiary. Management expects the diversified model, combined with India's growing middle class and digital penetration, to support sustainable growth even if air travel headwinds persist into coming quarters.
Overall gross bookings reached $2.72 billion, with revenue under IFRS at $235.2 million, up 11.2 percent in constant currency. Profit for the period swung to $1.8 million from a loss a year earlier. The results underscore how a leading Indian OTA is turning a cyclical air travel slowdown into an opportunity to capture a larger share of the broader travel wallet through hotels, ground transport and enhanced digital tools.
