SpiceJet new 'cheaper than train tickets' offer with fares starting at Rs 599

Low-cost carrier SpiceJet has launched another discount offer with fares starting at Rs 599 (all inclusive) for domestic flights and Rs 3,499 for international flights. As many as 400,000 seats are being offered, of which 100,000 are for Rs 599, a press release from the company said.

This offer is applicable for international flights, except Colombo, Kabul and Dubai-Ahmedabad-Dubai sectors, the release said.

The offer is available for booking during 11-13 February and for travel from 1 July to 24 October.

Under this offer, tickets on routes like Hyderabad to Vijayawada, Delhi to Dehradun, Guwahati to Kolkata, Ahmedabad to Mumbai, and Bangalore to Hyderabad all are priced at Rs. 599 only, the release said.

The fares for international flights start as low as Rs 3,499 all inclusive for Delhi to Kathmandu, with discounted fares available on most other international routes too, the release said.

“We are thrilled to continue to make air travel more affordable and accessible for more Indians than ever before, with our new unbelievable offer: the ‘Cheaper Than Train Fares’ sale. Fares for this offer are lower than AC train fares on many routes, and cheaper than non-AC sleeper class trains on several routes,” chief commercial officer Kaneswaran Avili said in the press release.

The company has also said that these are seats that would otherwise go empty during a lean season.

“At SpiceJet we believe that flying empty seats, which are the ultimate perishable commodity, is a crime,” said chief operating officer Sanjiv Kapoor said in the press release.

“These are seats that would otherwise go empty and be lost forever, and are priced based on the marginal cost of carrying an extra passenger, not on the average cost. Revenues from such offers contribute incremental revenue for the airline that flows directly to the bottom line,” he said.

This is the fourth discount sale by the company after it received the DGCA’s permission to resume advance booking last month.

The company was barred from taking advance bookings after the regulator found the company was in a precarious financial position.

SpiceJet is in the process being sold as its co-founder Ajay Singh is returning to the company fold. Singh, along with a clutch of investors, has agreed to buy out about 58 percent stake held by the current promoters Kalanithi Maran and KAL Airways. The stake is likely to be completed by April.

With the aviation regulator permitting advance bookings and Singh pumping in initial funds, the company seems to have come out of the dire financial situation for now.