Domestic airlines have started another fare war less than a week after they closed their last offerings. However, this time the discount has been kept at 30 per cent compared with 50 per cent offered previously.
What started on Friday morning with SpiceJet offering a 30 per cent discount to flyers who book at least 30 days before their travel date was matched first by IndiGo and then by Jet Airways.
To benefit from SpiceJet’s lower fares, bookings have to be made by midnight Sunday and travel has to be completed by April 15.
The airline is offering discounted travel only on flights operated between Monday and Thursday. In a statement Jet Airways said it was offering a 30 per cent discount on all flights operated both by Jet Airways and Jet Konnect domestic flights as long as bookings are made 30 days before travel.
The airline has asked passengers to complete the journey by April 20.
Travel agents claimed that IndiGo was also matching SpiceJet’s offer and Air India is expected to announce a similar scheme soon.
SpiceJet’s Chief Operating Officer Sanjiv Kapoor said the new offer was in “response to a deluge of requests from those who had missed it the first time to repeat the offer”.
Commenting on the move, Sharat Dhall, President of Yatra.com, said this was an extension of the airlines’ efforts to leverage on advance bookings. “Since, this is a lean season for travel, airlines are offering such competitive prices to make sure that they have good load factors in March and early April,” he pointed out.