Air India joins fare war, offers up to 30% discount

Days after budget carriers led by SpiceJet lowered ticket rates by up to 75% to avail early summer season bookings, Air India joined the fare war on Tuesday offering discounts on select routes.

The national carrier announced up to 30% discount on advance ticket purchases with an extended travel period on select flights on local routes as well as domestic leg of international flights.

The scheme covers 115 flights and offers approximately 30% discount on the apex 30, 60 and 90 levels, Air India said in a release here.

The booking for tickets under the 'Short Term Promotion Sale Bonanza' will start tomorrow and would continue till March 1. The scheme covers the travel period from March 29 to September 30, it said.

Under the offer, one-way ticket for the Goa-Mumbai sector will cost Rs 1,586 (excluding taxes), while passengers will have to shell out Rs 3,470 (excluding taxes) for journey between Mumbai and Kolkata.

Similarly, one-way journey on the Thiruvananthapuram-Mumbai will cost as low as Rs 2,557, while the fare for a Delhi-Lucknow flight stands at Rs 1, 889.

On Monday, SpiceJet triggered a third round of fare war in the last one month, lowering fares by up to 75%. The no-frill airline had announced a 50% and 30% reduction in fares in quick succession in mid-January to attract customers.

The move was immediately aped by its rivals IndiGo and GoAir with almost matching discounts.

First Published: Feb 26, 2014 22:46 IST