Indian Airlines to continue with discounts

19 August 1999

Indian Airlines is set to continue with its low fares on the Mumbai-Delhi route.

The airline has sufficient reason to want to continue with the discounts. In the months of July and August this year, not only did the airline make a small profit on its lower fares, it has registered higher load factors -- over 70 per cent in July and 80 per cent in August so far.

Two weeks ago Indian Airlines had announced its intention of resuming the full fare of Rs 5,110 on the Delhi-Mumbai route on 16 August. Airline officials say that the time is not ripe now for a roll-back to the higher fare.

Obviously. Rivals Sahara and Jet Air seem to be determined to continue the price war. Sahara has announced that it will charge fares that are lower than those of Indian Airlines or Jet Airways, and Jet Air recently flexing its marketing muscle by offering discounts at major hotels across India to passengers, Indian Airlines seems to be playing it safe by keeping fares low on the Delhi Mumbai route.

Indian Airlines and Jet Airways charge Rs 3,800 for a one-way Delhi-Mumbai ticket; Sahara charges Rs 3,555.

The main antagonists in this fare war are Indian Airlines and Jet Airways. Indian Airlines officials say that they can easily take on the five-plane Sahara Airlines even if the latter continues with its low fares and Indian Airlines revises its fares upwards. But the 25-plane Jet Air is a different story.