Jet Airways offers discount apex fares

First Published: Thu, Mar 14 2013. 05 35 PM IST

 

 Jet Airways launched the 60-day advance discount drive on Thursday with tickets priced at least 30% lower than the usual fare. Photo: Abhijit Bhatlekar/Mint 

 Updated: Thu, Mar 14 2013. 11 12 PM IST

 

Mumbai: Jet Airways (India) Ltd, the country’s second largest airline by passengers carried, is offering discounted fares to customers who want to travel 60 days later and beyond.

This offer follows the announcement of a 60-day advance purchase fare programme by state-owned Air India Ltd on Tuesday, with prices close to those of air-conditioned train travel, to stimulate leisure travel.

In a letter to travel agents, Sonu Kripalani, vice-president (passenger sales-India) at Jet Airways, said her airline has started a scheme similar to Air India’s on domestic flights operated by Jet Airways and its low-fare subsidiary JetKonnect. Mint reviewed the letter.

Jet Airways launched the 60-day advance discount drive on Thursday with tickets priced at least 30% lower than the usual fare, an executive at leading travel house said requesting anonymity. He said the attempt was to stimulate the travel market.

Air India had launched the all-inclusive 60-day advance purchase fare on the Delhi–Mumbai sector is Rs3,981 while on the Delhi–Lucknow route it is as low as Rs2,566.

Regi Philip, who runs Cosmos Agencies, a Mumbai-based travel agency, said he was able to book tickets at a 50% discount on most routes, subject to availability.

“This is as good as the discount drive that Jet Airways launched in February,” Philip said.

In mid-February, Jet Airways had slashed domestic airfares on 2 million seats by more than half for travel through the year, seeking to attract passengers away from rivals and raise an immediate cash buffer of up to Rs.600 crore.

In January, low-fare airline SpiceJet Ltd cut prices by more than half on 1 million tickets for travel between February and April—considered the leanest season for air travel in India

 

ADITYA KUMAR SINGH

PGDM 2 SEM.