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When the country’s newest airline takes off in January, it will most likely trigger another fare war. But the soon-to-be-airborne Vistara appears to have a headstart with some clever seat configurations and pricing.
The fares for Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, have been worked out in such a way that it will allow the airline to compete both with low-cost as well as full-service carriers.
The airline offers up to seven different categories of seats, starting from economy super saver to business flexi — each with its own set of advantages. For instance, while the flexi option allows passengers to change the date of travel for up to a year, the plain vanilla economy class offers fares that are either lower than or similar to low-cost airlines.
The Indian skies are currently dominated by low-cost carriers, but Jet Airways recently went full-service. The other full service carrier, Air India, has a low-cost subsidiary, Air India Express. Vistara has three broad classes on the A320-200 aircraft: business with 16 seats, premium economy with 36 seats, and economy with 96 seats. It is the only domestic airline offering the premium economy class.
A comparison of airline fares for February, when traffic is at its peak, indicates that if you book a month in advance, Vistara’s fares are cheaper than Jet Airways, Air India and GoAir.
For instance, a February 9 economy super saver ticket on the Mumbai-Delhi flight (code name: UK) costs ₹5,704. On Jet, it is ₹7,147 and on Air India: ₹5,783. For GoAir it is ₹5,731. Again, in business (saver) class, the fares are either similar or cheaper by over ₹9,000 when compared with Jet Airways .
However, in the first few days of the launch, Vistara fares will be much higher than the competition because of the curiosity factor among passengers. As a lot of tickets have been sold early, the price of the remaining inventory will go up.
“Vistara has not lowered its prices. It has held its ground knowing that people will pick up the brand. Also, an airline can afford to bleed for up to six months to understand its position in the industry,” Vasuki Prasad, an analyst with KoneArk Airline Consultancy Services, told BusinessLine .
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