Jet Airways slashes fares on domestic routes to take on competition

Jet Airways today launched the sale of 7,00,000 special low-priced air tickets, on domestic routes, in a week-long sale lasting till 9 August, to take on competition from no-frill carriers and attract more travellers.

Air travellers who book the special air tickets between 3 and 9 August, could use them to fly from 10 August onwards, Jet Airways said.

Under the scheme, the economy airfare on sectors of less than 750 km (like Mumbai – Ahmedabad) will be Rs1,777 and for 750-1,000 km (Mumbai – Bangalore) the fare is Rs2,777.

The one-way economy fare for distances beyond 1,000 km would be Rs3,777, a Jet Airways spokesperson said, adding that the fare will be inclusive of fuel surcharge.

However, passengers will have to pay the applicable taxes.

The tickets are non-refundable and passengers would be allowed to change travel date on payment of a charge of Rs1,200 per sector, as per the existing practice, the spokesman said.

While Indian carriers has a history of engaging in price wars despite their financial woes, there has been a lull in low-price offers for quite some time, with the exception of perhaps SpiceJet, which, earlier this month, announced a price reduction.

The current offer is for a limited-period and is aimed at attracting passengers during the lean season.

For Jet Airways, however, the deal with Gulf carrier Etihad Airways has helped improve its cash position and is now using that position to corner market through price competition.

Although the Jet-Etihad deal is yet to get cabinet nod, the deal almost a done thing for all practical purposes.