Indian carriers on Friday took the battle to the rival camp by announcing rock-bottom fares to popular destinations like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Air-India Express, the low-cost carrier of Air India, announced the launch of its international operations from April 29 by offering a Delhi-Abu Dabhi ticket for as low as Rs 2,750. This is almost 50 per cent of the existing fares on the sector.
Earlier in the day, Air Sahara announced the launch of its daily flights to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur from May with an introductory round-trip fare of Rs 10,000. This is 37.5 per cent lower than the current average airfare of Rs 16,000 on these two routes.
International carriers, already flying on these routes, are expected to reduce fares on these routes to match the offers. At the moment, all eyes are on Jet Airways, which is slated to commence operations to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur soon.
"We will wait and watch and will come out with a new pricing scheme after Jet Airways also announces its schedule. Besides, this offer looks like a short-term strategy. We also have to see how it will evolve eventually," said an executive of an international airline operating in the Delhi-Singapore sector.
West Asian airlines had earlier indicated that they would not cut prices once Air-India Express started flights to destinations like Abu Dabhi and Dubai as travelers were willing to pay for their "premium" services.
Air-India Express will launch its maiden flight on April 29 from Thiruvananthapuram to Abu Dhabi.
"On an average, tickets are priced 25 per cent lower than the existing fares on the sector. In some cases, the discount is as high as 50 per cent and in some cases, it is only 10 per cent," V Thulasidas, chairman and managing director, Air-India, said.
On most routes to West Asia, Air-India will withdraw its flights in favour of Air-India Express. The low-cost carrier, with a fleet of three Boeing 737-800s, will operate 35 flights a week to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Salalah from Kochi, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai and Delhi.
Each aircraft will have 181 seats in a single-economy class configuration. Unlike a no-frills airline, Air-India Express will offer meals and other services on board.
Air Sahara's Singapore-Delhi operations will start on May 11, while its Chennai-Kuala Lumpur service will be launched on May 14.
"Both return services will be daylight flights," Rono J Dutta, chief executive officer, Air Sahara, said. The tickets for the two flights will be sold through general sales agents in India and abroad from March 30.
Air Sahara planes to Singapore and the Malaysian Capital will be Boeing 737-800s and Boeing 737-700s, respectively. The Singapore flight will have 12 business class and 156 economy class seats, while the Kuala Lumpur flight will have 12 business class and 114 economy class seats.
"There is a substantial growth in traffic. We expect to have nearly full capacity for the service," Dutta said. It is expected that the India-Singapore air traffic, estimated at about 1.16 million in 2003-04 by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation, will be about 30 to 40 per cent per annum over the next few years.
Air Sahara is also in talks with Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airlines for ground handling of its international services.
"A good flight schedule, good service and Indian hospitality will be provided on these international flights,"Dutta said.
