Air India to slash basic fares by 60%

Mumbai: After announcing a fare reduction of up to 82% a few days back, national carrier Air India has announced that it will cut basic fares
anywhere between 45% and 60% in February following a drop in ATF prices.
A government official said that the National Aviation Corporation of India (Nacil), which controls Air India, is currently working on the mechanism of reduction. The management of Air India and even the government are keen that airfares should drop to 2005 levels. An Air India official based in Delhi told ET: “We are not ruling out a cut on our basic fares in the immediate future.” When contacted, the Air India spokesperson declined to comment on the possibility of a fare cut.
The proposed fare cut will be implemented in select sectors, which will include routes to metros, apart from tier-I & II cities. A 50% drop in the average basic fare will mean that a ticket on the Delhi-Mumbai sector will have a basic fare of Rs 837 instead of Rs 1,675. Similarly, the Mumbai-Bangalore basic fare will be Rs 600 instead of Rs 1,200.
These fares are exclusive of taxes and fuel surcharge. Airlines have been desperately trying to increase load factor.
07/01/09 Mithun Roy/Economic Times

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: NACIL Jan 2009