The Hindu : Fare wars in the sky

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 28, 2003

National

National

Fare wars in the sky

By Vinay Kumar

NEW DELHI MAY 27. Air travellers never had it so good. Till recently, the State-owned domestic carrier, Indian Airlines (IA) and private operators, Jet Airways and Air Sahara, were vying with one another to lure travellers and holiday-makers but now Air India (AI) too has jumped in the fray offering special fares for domestic passengers.

Making the domestic market tussle a bit more interesting, Air India claimed that it was offering the "best deal'' to passengers travelling within the country. The new special fares for AI flights departing between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. are now five per cent lower than the already announced Apex fares being offered by the domestic carriers.AI said that a special night fare for flights departing between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. would be further lower by 10 per cent compared to the special day fare offered by AI and 15 per cent lower in relation to Apex fare offered by the domestic carriers.

In a bid to attract first time air-travellers, AI said the new special fares would not have any advance purchase conditions. The cancellation charges had been kept for special night fares at Rs. 100 only. The number of seats allocated for these fares is about 80 per cent of the capacity and are not restricted in the case of domestic carriers.

Air Sahara today announced a "Twin-Sixer Scheme'' under which it will offer free travel for a companion. Passengers can purchase the twin-sixer for Rs. 46,000 which allows one companion to travel free for each of the six coupons. For long haul, it offers six one-way coupons for select sectors and a companion can travel twice. Under the new initiatives, there is no need for advance planning and there are no cancellation charges.

U.K. Bose, Air Sahara's CEO, said the sixer and super-sixer schemes had been well received after its launch last year. "We decided to give the scheme yet another push for the summer holiday season and give a little more benefit to frequent flyers,'' he said. According to him, new schemes would mean a saving of 40 to 65 per cent for the travellers on different segments.

Mr. Bose announced new flights to link Delhi-Kochi, Kolkata-Pune, Mumbai-Kochi circuits from early June. He said the airline was focussing on South and East sectors which offered a lot of scope for better connectivity. Air Sahara recently inducted modern 50-seater CRJ jet aircraft to service regional routes and is in the process of getting on lease two bigger Boeing 737-700 series aircraft to offer better frequency on metro sectors.

With the Railways' offer of a reduced second AC and First AC fare on the cards from July, domestic carriers are making keen efforts to wean away train passengers who patronise these categories. Jet Airways has already launched a vigorous campaign, comparing its apex (advance purchase) fares to second class AC train fares.

The State-owned IA too recently announced its super-saver scheme where even international routes are being offered to travellers.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National