Air India joins fare war, offers up to 30% discount

Mumbai: Days after budget carriers led by SpiceJet lowered ticket rates by up to 75 percent to avail early summer season bookings, Air India joined the fare war today offering discounts on select routes. The national carrier announced up to 30 percent discount on advance ticket purchases with an extended travel period on select flights on local routes as well as domestic leg of international flights.[caption id=“attachment_1409757” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  In a price warfare. AFP[/caption] The scheme covers 115 flights and offers approximately 30 percent discount on the apex 30, 60 and 90 levels, Air India said in a release in Mumbai. The booking for tickets under the ‘Short Term Promotion Sale Bonanza’ will start tomorrow and would continue till 1 March. The scheme covers the travel period from 29 March to 30 September, it said. Under the offer, one-way ticket for the Goa-Mumbai sector will cost Rs 1,586 (excluding taxes), while passengers will have to shell out Rs 3,470 (excluding taxes) for journey between Mumbai and Kolkata. Similarly, one-way journey on the Thiruvananthapuram-Mumbai will cost as low as Rs 2,557, while the fare for a Delhi-Lucknow flight stands at Rs 1, 889. On Monday, SpiceJet triggered a third round of fare war in the last one month, lowering fares by up to 75 percent. The no-frill airline had announced a 50 per cent and 30 per cent reduction in fares in quick succession in mid-January to attract customers. The move was immediately aped by its rivals IndiGo and GoAir with almost matching discounts. PTI