Fliers return to budget carriers

New Delhi: No-frills airlines like IndiGo, SpiceJet and Kingfisher Red are reclaiming ground lost to their full-service rivals, as belt-tightening across industries forces companies to seek cheaper travel options.
Riding on a growing number of corporate air travellers and lower fares compared to rivals like Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, these airlines have managed to win back the market share they lost in the fiscal second quarter.
The market share of low-cost carriers bounced back to the June 2008 level of 46.4% in October, after slipping to 41% during July-September, according to data from the directorate general of civil aviation.
While full-service carriers have been reluctant to reduce fares even after jet fuel prices fell 42% in three months, budget airlines have scrapped congestion charges and introduced low fares on advance ticket bookings.
Full-service carriers such as Jet Airways and Air India charge a transaction fee of Rs 350 and congestion charge of Rs 150 per ticket.
Jet charges about Rs 7,400 including fuel surcharge and taxes for a one-way ticket from New Delhi to Mumbai. Against this, IndiGo and SpiceJet charge Rs 5,125 for the same journey. The Delhi-Mumbai sector commands close to 60% domestic air traffic of the country.
14/10/08 Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Nov 2008, Low Cost General Nov 2008