Airfare War Starts Again: SpiceJet, Jet Airways & IndiGo Offer Lucrative Discounts This Diwali

Domestic carriers are once again trying to spice up the festive season by offering heavy discounts on airfare. India's low-budget carrier Spicejet announced five-day ‘Diwali Dhamaka’ sale on Tuesday, ranging from all-inclusive fares of Rs 899 to Rs 2,499, for travel starting from November 1, 2014, to December 2015.

The sale would be on till October 26 and would be available for short distance travel between sectors like Bangalore-Chennai-Kochi. While on the Bangalore-Goa sector, a one-way ticket price would start at Rs 1,599 and for the rest of India, the starting fare would be Rs 2,499.

Soon after SpiceJet announced a discounted ticket scheme, Mumbai-based Jet Airways also launched a similar scheme starting from an all-inclusive fare of Rs 899. On the other hand, Indigo announced fares between Rs 1,590 to Rs 4,999 on its domestic network.

The October-December period is considered as the peak season for air travel in India and generally witnesses an increase in fares by 10-30% each year. According to travel portal Cleartrip, however, fares this year are about 20% lower as compared to same period last year.

As per an airline executive, pricing has been subdued during the peak season this year due to oversupply, resulting in lower occupancy in flights.

Last week, GoAir, another budget Indian airline, had announced a discounted ticket scheme for travel between October 21 and 30 with fares for flights from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Delhi. The fare started from Rs 2,510. However, travel agents call these flash sales a gimmick.

“Post-Diwali period is a low season for airlines. Secondly, domestic carriers are facing cash flow problems so these sales are one way for them to collect money in advance. These sales are similar to the ‘up to 50 per cent discounts’ in malls, not all the clothes will have a 50 per cent discount. Similarly, just the first 10 tickets will be low-priced. Such sales are gimmicks and mislead the public. For travel agents, these sales are an irritation as clients demand such low rates on all the tickets booked during these periods, which cannot work out,” said Karl Dantas, president of Enterprising Travel Agents Association.
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