Air India kicks off possible fresh round of fare wars
13 Jan 2015
National carrier Air India, after posting its first profitable results in years in December (See: Around the corner? Air India finally posts profit in December), on Monday launched the first flash sale by a domestic airline in 2015, offering discounts of up to 50 per cent on several routes.
The six-day sale offers all-inclusive economy class tickets starting at Rs1,557 for travel between 16 January and 30 April.
Last month, two airlines - GoAir and Jet Airways - had offered similar short-term sales for travel up to September, but the discounts were not as big as that offered by Air India.
According to the AI website, the discount is available on various routes connecting 'tier-2' towns such as Nagpur and tourist hubs such as Goa to Mumbai.
Travel operators said a price war was on the cards after Vistara, the new full service airline started by Tata and Singapore Airlines, began offering flights fares cheaper than AI and Jet Airways.