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| Airlines slash fares 50% for holiday season |
| Anirban Chowdhury & Ruchismita Panigrahi / New Delhi/Mumbai May 23, 2009, 00:36 IST |
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It is bonanza time for international travellers yet again, with foreign carriers like Singapore Airlines, British Airways and Cathay Pacific cutting fares almost 50 per cent.
Singapore Airlines today announced an all-inclusive return fare of Rs 11,000 for all four sectors in India. The fares come into the market from May 25 and the offer closes on May 29. The return fares currently on the website come to Rs 26,000.
"This offer is just a part of series of incredible offers. Singapore Airlines will announce the rest of the series very soon. The offer is targeted towards attracting the holiday travellers. The booking period is limited but customers can fly till September 30 if they avail of these offers," said a company spokesperson for India.
| FARE AND LOVELY |
| Route |
Class |
Earlier
fare (Rs) |
Special
offer (Rs) |
Offer
period |
| SINGAPORE AIRLINES* |
| Delhi-Singapore |
Economy |
26,000 |
11,000 |
May 25-29 |
| BRITISH AIRWAYS |
| Bangalore-London |
First |
1,66,000 |
83,000 |
May 22-25 |
| |
Business |
89,000 |
44,500 |
- |
| All fares are return * Including taxes |
The return fares of Rs 11,000 include taxes and surcharges. A mail sent to travel agents across the country shows that the basic return fare in the Delhi-Singapore-Delhi comes to an unprecedented Rs 280.
Meanwhile, British Airways has announced a limited-period 50 per cent discount offer to first- and business-class passengers travelling from India to London, Europe and US. This fare is valid for sale from May 22 to May 25 on flights from New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore to London.
South-east Asian carrier Cathay Pacific announced today that it is keeping its fuel surcharge for short-haul sectors constant at $6.7 till July, instead of increasing it.
While this good news for air travellers, experts are saying that this is a reflection of their depleting loads in India.
“This year’s discounts are much higher than last year. The reduction in international fares this summer would be 25-30 per cent lower than last summer. This does not say much about their loads in India. Personally speaking, my sales are down by 25 per cent over the last quarter,” said Ajay Prakash, general secretary, Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI).
Prakash also said that as the offers showed, very limited inventory would be sold on discount. For instance, German national carrier Lufthansa recently announced an offer giving a 50 per cent discount, which was on sale only for 50 hours.
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