The Hindu Business Line : Air Deccan's Re 1 ticket flies off the shelves

Mr P. Narayanan, Manager, Project Support, Raffles Software Pvt Ltd, displaying Air Deccan's Re 1 ticket in Bangalore on Thursday. — G.R.N. Somashekar

Bangalore , June 9

NOBODY is complaining and some can't believe their luck, but the Re 1 ticket, offered by Air Deccan is drawing huge crowds — even those who can afford to travel on regular fares.

The Air Deccan Managing Director, Capt. G.R. Gopinath, isn't amused when asked whether the airline has been able to reach the target the tickets were meant for. "Last evening, an Infosys employee flew on a Re 1 ticket," points out Capt. Gopinath. "Ideally, I want someone who lives in a remote town to travel on such a ticket. But the challenge is how do I ensure it. Hence, we have a first-come, first-serve system in place," he said.

There are also those who have been able to book their seats on a Re 1 ticket but would rather be happy if it goes to those who cannot afford to pay Rs 500 for a ticket. "It may not really reach those it was meant for," says Mr Puneet Aurora, an exporter, who got the ticket through his travel agent.

A project manager for a software company, Mr Padmanbha Narayanan, said he has no hesitation in buying Re 1 ticket. "I visit my family frequently and for such trips I use my own money to pay for the ticket. Hence, I wouldn't mind buying a Re 1 ticket," he added. Mr Narayanan said he was extremely lucky to get the Re 1 ticket and regularly books in advance to be able to get the Rs 500 ticket, which is also offered by Air Deccan.

On June 7, Air Deccan released 1,800 tickets worth Re 1 each into its online reservation system and within six hours of opening of the bookings, its call centre was flooded with over 10,000 calls. On a normal day, the call centre receives less than half of that. The total of hits on its Web site was over 50,000, which is double of what it is on a regular day.

But for most, being able to get the Re 1 ticket is nothing short of a miracle. "Do you really think they will allow me to fly with this Re 1 ticket," asks Mr Amit Nanda, a publisher of law books. Mr Nanda will fly from Mumbai to Chennai for just Re 1, though the total cost of the ticket will be Rs 222 as it includes air safety tax of Rs 221.

Mr Nanda, however, said the airline should not in fact sell tickets at such a low price. "What will happen to their image. An airline should keep in mind its image too," he said.

Air Deccan decided to offer tickets at Re 1 after renowned cartoonist R.K. Laxman, whose `Common Man' is the brand ambassador of the airline, suggested to Capt. Gopinath that his airline should offer tickets for prices as less as Re 1.

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