Discount helps Jet raise passenger traffic 20%

New Delhi: After massive cancellations of Jet Airways flights during the five-day strike last week, the private carrier has seen a surge in the number of passengers that it has flown in the last three days — thanks to an aggressive discount of up to 50 per cent on some tickets on all its flights.
Taking it on in the price game has been rival Air India, which also announced a drop of up to 48 per cent in its fares. According to travel agents, Jet’s passenger numbers shot up nearly 20 per cent compared with what it was before the strike. During the strike, the numbers had fallen to as low as 7,000. As a result, according to industry experts, the company went deeper into the red by Rs 160 crore.
A spokesperson said over 23,000 passengers used to fly with Jet on normal days. On September 14, a day after the strike ended, the number of passengers reached 19,000. On Thursday, the figure was 28,000. The spokesperson pointed out that the motive behind the offer was to make amends with passengers as they had suffered a lot during the strike.
Whatever the reason, travel agents say the move has worked. “Jet Airways has seen an increase of over 20 per cent in ticket sales compared with the pre-strike period,” Ajay Parkash, general secretary of the Travel Agents Federation of India, said.
Avers Rajji Rai, general secretary of the Travel Agents Association of India: “The discount offers have increased ticket sales by 20-40 per cent.”
19/09/09 Mihir Mishra/Business Standard

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Categories: Jet Airways Sep 2009