Airlines eye short haul flyers

New Delhi: Getting shorthaul passengers back in planes from Shatabdis and deluxe coaches seems to be the clear aim for airlines as they finally start cutting their exorbitant fares. While Kingfisher and Air India (domestic) are yet to announce cuts, Jet's lower fares that have come into effect from Monday are clearly indicative of this. Shorthaul routes where people have attractive surface transport options have seen the maximum cut.
Most long metro routes have seen a cut of Rs 250 as trains. The popular Delhi-Mumbai route will now have a lowest total fare slab of Rs 5,075, just Rs 250 down from the previous low of Rs 5,325. The Delhi-Bangalore route has also witnessed a similar cut. But closeby metros like Mumbai-Bangalore will see its lowest slab falling by over Rs 500.
So short sectors are the ones to get the best farecuts. For instance, Jet's fares for Delhi-Udaipur sector will now begin at the lowest slab of Rs 2,825, Rs 1,750 down from the earlier Rs 4,575. Similarly, the basic fare on Mumbai-Ahmedabad will now start from Rs 500 which will be in addition to a taxes and surcharge of Rs 2,325. However, these are the lowest slabs of fares that would keep rising as a flight gets sold out.
Since this cut in basic fare comes within a month of all airlines cutting fuel surcharge by Rs 400, the overall fares have fallen anywhere from 4% to 20%.
30/12/08 Times of India

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Dec 2008