Air India reduces fares by up to 50% for domestic flights

Air India on Monday reduced its fares by upto 50 percent for all its domestic flights, three days after Tata-Singapore Airlines joint venture Vistara commenced its flight services in the country and hinted that it was ready to take on the competition from the peers.

The state-run airline has rolled out a limited period low fare offer, starting at Rs 1,557 across its domestic network which include metro cities such as Delhi and Mumbai.

The sale is on from January 12 to 18 for a travel period between January 16 and April 30. "Air India announced a sale today on short advance purchase bookings (for travel between January 16 to April 30). With tickets starting as low as Rs 1,557, the sale has witnessed a very enthusiastic response," MakeMyTrip Senior Vice President for Flights Ranjeet Oak said.

Bookings are up by over 100 percent week-on-week, he said, adding this sale followed by a similar offer from Jet Airways. Full service carrier Jet Airways had late last month rolled out a discounted ticket scheme, offering customers upto 30 percent low fares on both its domestic and international flights.

"You can't start a business by being worried about competition but by believing you have a space. Competition is good for customers," Vistara Chairman Prasad Menon had said at the time of airline's launch.

Source : moneycontrol.com