Airlines at war again with Re 1 tickets

As the aviation industry bettered its performance, registering almost 23 per cent growth in January 2010 over the same month last year, airfares have once again become pocket friendly, with at least one no-frills carrier charging a base fare of Re 1.
Rahul Bhatia-promoted IndiGo, which has been consistently improving its performance in the domestic skies by garnering larger market share, has launched a base fare of Re 1 on the busiest Delhi-Mumbai route. A one-way ticket from Delhi to Mumbai costs Rs 2,680 on the airline and the return journey totals to a little over Rs 5,000. Another no-frills carrier, Jeh Wadia’s Go Air, is offering the same round-trip ticket for a little less, at Rs 5,106.
Similarly, Spice Jet and Jet Lite are offering return fares on the Delhi-Mumbai route between Rs 5,548 and Rs 5,860. The fares have climbed down as February and March are traditionally considered lean months. “For the next two months, the yields (average fare paid per mile per passenger) will be softer,” said Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (South Asia) CEO Kapil Kaul.
With the exception of Kingfisher Red, whose fares appear to be at least 27 per cent to 90 per cent higher than others, most of the low-priced carriers have brought down their fares by almost 30 per cent to 40 per cent from the year-ago period on some of the busiest metros.
13/02/10 Smita Aggarwal/Indian Express

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Feb 2010