Airlines play zero basic fare card

Mumbai: The days of zero fare are back again. An online search for a Mumbai-Delhi ticket for a Saturday evening flight showed a GoAir ticket for Rs 0, basic fare, that is.
But the total cost of the air ticket with taxes and fuel surcharge included works out to Rs 3,112, which, though, is not as low as what the Mumbai-Delhi fares were two-three years ago. In December 2007, for instance, when the aviation turbine fuel price was much higher than what it is today, a Mumbai-Delhi cheap fare was priced at Rs 1,850. "The fuel surcharge component has remained unchanged at about Rs 2,700 (for Mumbai-Delhi), and so despite the Rs 0 basic fare, the total cost of a ticket does not fall below Rs 2,900 these days,'' says a travel agent.
There is no dearth of these Rs 0 fares as they were available for even the 6 am and 8 pm Saturday flights. But what is noteworthy is that low-cost airlines like GoAir have now moved the dirt cheap basic fares from the advance booking bucket and put them into the last-minute category. Other airlines, though, have stuck to the resolve of rewarding the early birds, like the 21-day advance purchaser.
"Air tickets to destinations like Delhi, Goa, Kolkata, Bangalore among others start at a very low base fare for January 22. IndiGo, for instance, has a Rs 0 base fare for Mumbai-Bangalore, Mumbai-Delhi and other destinations. SpiceJet is offering air fares for Re 1 (Rs 99 in some cases). Kingfisher Red and JetLite have slashed it down to Rs 9, basic fare. The full-fare carriers like Kingfisher and Jet Airways, on the other hand, have a Rs 200 base fare offer (total fare is Rs 3,484), while Air India is selling at Rs 300,'' he added.
05/01/09 Manju V/Times of India

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Jan 2009