10 most outrageous airfare flash sales Indians enjoyed

Airlines have often unleashed a bloodbath of flash sales, as the Indian flyer feasted on the same. The latest in line is the budget carrier SpiceJet that has offered 1 lakh seats on its select domestic flights for just Rs. 1! The fare however excludes taxes and fees and is valid for travel from July 15 to March 31, 2016.

India is home to an increasing number of flyers. Domestic airlines alone carried a whopping 322 lakh passengers between January to May 2015 this year. That’s a significant 20% leap from previous year’s figure. As airlines scuffle it out to grab the attention of the Indian flyer, Business Insider India compiles a list of the 10 most outrageous airfare discounts that’ll make you wish you were there:

Cheaper Than Train Fares
This had to top the list. With the sale that saw SpiceJet going almost bankrupt, this one claimed that travelling by air could be cheaper than a train ride. The sale offered mind boggling all-inclusive domestic fares starting at Rs 599 and Rs 3,499 for international flights.

A total of four lakh seats were on sale out of which around 1 lakh were priced at Rs 599 only. The bookings could be made till February 13 for travel between July 1 and October 24, 2015.

Air India Day Sale
India’s national carrier decided to observe August 27 as Air India Day because Indian Airlines and Air India merged on this day. To celebrate the vent, the airlines offered tickets at base fares of Rs 100 only!

The tickets were sold only through Air India website from August 27-31 and were meant for travel between August 27 and September 30.

AirAsia Big Sale
AirAsia India’s Big Sale promised tickets priced from an all-inclusive Rs 799! The booking date ended on June 28, 2015 and is applicable on travel between February 15 and August 31, 2016.

Under this offer, Bengaluru to Kochi fares were priced from Rs 799 and Bengaluru-Pune, Bengaluru-Goa, and Bengaluru-Visakhapatnam from a mere Rs 999. Bengaluru-Jaipur would cost you Rs 1,599, Bengaluru-Chandigarh Rs 1,799 and Bengaluru-New Delhi just Rs 1,999!

Jet Airways Diwali Sale
This was Jet’s knockout punch to SpiceJet’s Diwali Dhamaka sale. In October 2014, full service airlines Jet Airways announced a discounted five-day offer with fares starting from an all-inclusive fare of just Rs 899! This however excluded all taxes and surcharges. The sale ended on October 26 and was valid for travel between November 1 to December 15 on the airline’s domestic network.

Jet Airways Monsoon Sale
Jet did it again with its 'Monsoon Sale'. The full service carrier priced its tickets at Rs 1,499 under its monsoon offer. The discounted ticket scheme was applicable for bookings made between July 8 and July 13, 2015, for travel between July 20, 2015 and October 15, 2015.

Under the offer, Delhi-Lucknow fares started from Rs 1499, Delhi-Mumbai at Rs 2199, Delhi-Bengaluru at Rs 2999, and Delhi-Kolkata at Rs 2999.

British Airways India Anniversary
British Airways did the unthinkable and announced a one-day flash sale today that offered an eye-watering 90% off on return tickets between Mumbai and London! This was to commemorate nine decades of its India operations.

Under the offer, the lowest-priced Mumbai-London return ticket started at Rs 40,252 for economy class. The offer was valid for travel from October 1-31.

Tigerair India Anniversary
In September, 2014 Tigerair offered special one-way base fares of Rs 10 only to Indian flyers travelling to Singapore to celebrate its decade-long operations.

The offer was applicable only on round trip tickets from India, under which the fare could be as low as Rs 7,499 including taxes. The offer was valid till September 21 and was valid for travel between January 12 to March 31, 2015, and July 21 to September 22.

Travel Light, Save More Sale
On April 27, low cost carrier SpiceJet announced a sale for passengers carrying only hand baggage. Around 1.5 lakh seats were offered for a mere Rs 999. One could book tickets between April 27 and April 29 for travel between July 1 and Oct 15, 2015. The massive response saw the airliner extending the offer till May 3, 2015 and adding 1,00,000 more seats.

SpiceJet #CelebrationSale
SpiceJet did it again on May, 2015 as it came up with an offer to celebrate 10 years of its India operations. It launched the #CelebrationSale with tickets priced at an all inclusive Rs 1,010. What more could you ask for!

Jet Airways Business Class Sale
This one is in the list as it stands tall amidst the scrap for low prices. Jet Airways showed other their place by offering as much as 25% off on its business class ticket prices #WithASwag! Since no budget carrier actually has any business class, Jet had the market all to themselves as Business heads queued up to save their moolah for the extra cocktail.

Under the offer, Jet Airways offers all-inclusive one-way fares as low as Rs 8,420 to its customers flying business class on the airline’s Bhopal-Mumbai sector. *Respect*

(Image credit: Indiatimes)