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Rediff.com  » Business » IA cuts fares by 50% for Delhi route

IA cuts fares by 50% for Delhi route

By BS Corporate Bureau in New Delhi
July 05, 2005 12:25 IST
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State-run Indian Airlines on Monday announced a new price scheme that will allow passengers to fly on most routes for a fare as low as Rs 4,041. This is about 50 per cent cheaper than the normal fare on the Delhi-Mumbai route.

The decision is likely to trigger another round of fare war among Indian carriers. Private domestic carriers are also expected to introduce similar schemes. Executives with private carriers said they would respond to this move in the next few days.

Ticket-booking under the current offer by Indian Airlines starts from Tuesday, and the tickets can be used for travelling till March 31, 2006. Under the scheme, a passenger can buy 12 flight coupons to any destination in India for Rs 48,500.

These coupons are valid for a period of one year from the date of purchase.

For executive class travel, 12 tickets will cost Rs 72,500, making the cost of one ticket a little over Rs 6, 000.

A passenger also gets 500 mileage points per economy class coupon and 750 points per executive class coupon.

"We expect this scheme to be a great success, just like our earlier ones," said an Indian Airlines executive. Against a single coupon, one can travel between two cities without changing aircraft and the flight number.

However, the Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram, Delhi-Kochi, Delhi-Kozhikode and the Delhi-Coimbatore routes are exceptions, for which two coupons will be required.

This move by the carrier comes at a time when the airline industry in the country is on an upswing with passenger traffic growing over 27 per cent in the last six months.

Experts point out that this move will be a big boon for the corporate travel market, which accounts for a lion's share of the overall travel market.

It will also help the state-run carrier get an extra market share in this category. Indian Airlines in February had launched the "Bumper Super Saver Scheme", which was a runaway success with all tickets being sold off in a matter of a few days.
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BS Corporate Bureau in New Delhi
Source: source
 

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