AirAsia India’s entry into the domestic aviation market has brought cheer to the passengers and has left the competitors frowning.
Operating only on two sectors to start with — Bangalore-Goa and Bangalore-Chennai — AirAsia India has managed to create a splash with its Rs 5 promotional fares.
Adding airport taxes and fees, the promo Bangalore-Goa ticket cost Rs 490, Goa-Bangalore ticket cost Rs 291, Bangalore-Chennai Rs 490 and Chennai-Bangalore Rs 339.
It prompted an immediate response from market leader IndiGo, which launched its own promotional offer of Re 1 tickets on the same sectors.
“AirAsia was expected to unleash a price war offering ‘the lowest of low fares’ and it has done exactly that,” said Rajan Sehgal, director, Arrivals Air Service Pvt Ltd. “Other Indian carriers who are neck-deep in losses will be forced to match fares in a high-cost operating environment.”
Clearly, the start-up has ruffled feathers. “What is predatory, disruptive, dangerous? Offering Rs 5 fares in peak season, and that too w/in 14 days of travel. Let us wait and watch...” tweeted SpiceJet COO Sanjiv Kapoor.
“Anybody who says he is not worried about AirAsia’s entry would be lying,” said a senior executive of a rival airline.
{{/usCountry}}“Anybody who says he is not worried about AirAsia’s entry would be lying,” said a senior executive of a rival airline.
{{/usCountry}}The passenger, however, is happy. “I am waiting for it (AirAsia) to launch flights on other sectors. The rising airfares are a direct result of the demand-supply mismatch and with a new entrant, having both deep pockets and access to best technology, there should be a considerable drop in fares,” said Rajesh Bhargava, a frequent flyer.
Even besides the Rs 5 promo offer, there has been a considerable drop in fares on the sectors AirAsia India will operate.
A search on travel portal MakeMyTrip revealed that the cheapest available ticket on the Bangalore-Goa sector from June 1 to June 11 on Saturday cost Rs 4,745 but post June 12, when AirAsia launches operations, tickets were available for as less Rs 1,499 on rival carriers.