SpiceJet offers discounts, vouchers up to Rs 2,000 to boost seat capacity

Domestic capacity of airlines in india this July at 27 per cent of 2019 level, says Icra

SpiceJet is offering discounts and free vouchers up to Rs 2,000 to grow sales.

Due to industry-wide quarantine restrictions, seat occupancy on flights is 50-60 per cent. Most flight bookings are still being made closer to the travel date and SpiceJet's offer aims to increase forward bookings and raise cash.

As a part of its 1+1 offer, the airline is offering one-way fares starting Rs 899 (excluding taxes) and a complimentary voucher of up to Rs 2,000, which can be used for future bookings. The offer is open till August 7 and for travel till March 31, 2021.

In June IndiGo had given flexible payment options allowing passengers to secure booking by paying 10 per cent of ticket price upfront.

Domestic airlines have witnessed a rather slow uptick in capacity in July 2020 despite the recommencement of operations over two months ago. Airlines operated at a much lower capacity this July, of around 27 per cent of the July 2019 level, but there  was a marginal increase over the 25 per cent capacity deployed in June 2020

Rating agency Icra maintains that H2 FY2021 will see some recovery, with Q4 FY2021 witnessing YoY de-growth of just 3-14 per cent in domestic passenger traffic with improved load factors. Overall FY2021 is likely to witness 41-46 per cent de-growth in domestic passenger traffic, it said.