Return
to Story Page
To print: Select File and then Print from your
browser's menu
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
MUMBAI, JUNE 26: The ongoing fare war between the domestic airlines has intensified with the national carrier, Indian Airlines, announcing its cheapest ever fare on the Mumbai-Delhi sector.
According to IA sources, a one way economy class ticket between Mumbai and Delhi will be sold for Rs 3,800 Rs 1,300 cheaper than the regular fare of Rs 5,110. The reduced fare will come into effect from July 1, 1999, up to July 31, 1999.
The fare has been reduced to such an extent that if you are planning to take the Rajdhani Express to Delhi, better opt for the IA flight. For at Rs 4180, the Rajdhani's AC I class ticket is actually costlier than the economy fare of the national airline. Instead of 12 long hours on the train, you will reach Delhi in just one-and-a-half hours flat.
And to top it all, under its metro shuttle concept, IA gives a free oneway ticket to a passenger if, for technical reasons, two succeeding flights are cancelled. IA operates 10 metro shuttles each between Mumbai and Delhi in eitherdirections daily.
The fare war was first kicked off by Sahara Airways when it offered last month a fixed fare of Rs 4,111 on this sector. Jet Airways followed it up by announcing a similar fare from July 1 till September 30, leaving IA's tickets the costliest on the Mumbai-Delhi route.
June 15 to September 30 is generally a lean traffic period for airlines, mainly due to reopening of schools and uncertain weather conditions.However, this announcement made by IA, just two days after Jet Airways fare reduction, is likely upset the apple carts of both private airlines, especially since IA already has quite a few attractive schemes in the market, sources added.
While IA has scrapped the free-ticket-for-spouse offer on the Mumbai-Delhi sector during the month of July with the introduction of the cheaper air fare, a passenger would be entitled to included his flights during this period under the Seven Plus Offer scheme of the airline.
Sahara Airways has already introduced a package offering passengers onthe Mumbai-Delhi, Mumbai-Bangalore and Mumbai-Calcutta sectors one night's stay in a five-star hotel, including breakfast. In the return Mumbai-Delhi and Delhi-Mumbai sector, the facility is offered to passengers only for Rs 799 more than the fare of the tickets of both Jet and IA on these sectors.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
------------------------------------------------------------
This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
------------------------------------------------------------