Airlines add spice to festive season with discount offers

Domestic carriers resorted to another round of discounted fares with cash-strapped SpiceJet making the first move with a limited-period discounted one-way domestic fare offer, ranging from all-inclusive fares of Rs 899 to Rs 2,499.
No sooner the Kalanithi Maran's budget carrier rolled out its 'Diwali dhamaka sale' offer, other private operators Jet Airways, IndiGo and even regional player Air Costa also came out with discounted ticket schemes.
The tickets under the scheme can be booked till October 26 and the travel period would be between November one and December 15, SpiceJet said in a release.
The all-in fares, starting at Rs 899, are available for short distance travel between sectors like Bangalore- Chennai-Kochi. While on Bangalore-Goa sector, a one-way ticket price would start at Rs 1,599 and for the rest of India, the starting fare would be Rs 2,499, it said.

The airline's COO Sanjeev Kapoor said SpiceJet has "fundamentally changed the air travel paradigm in India this year" with frequent offers, often lower than train fares.
These sales, he said, had helped airlines to "fill empty seats, allowed more Indians to travel by air than ever before, and more often than before, and have helped air travel grow significantly year-over-year."

On the other hand, Naresh Goyal-promoted full service carrier Jet Airways has announced a five-day festive fare offer starting from an all inclusive Rs 899 for the economy class with booking period commencing from tomorrow till October 26, on its domestic network.

The travel under the festive offer should be undertaken between November 1 and December 15 for flights within India, Jet Airways said in the release.
Similarly, the Vijayawada-based airline also said it will offer a special Diwali discount of Rs 500 on fares across its flights booked between October 21 and October 25 for travel up to March 28 next year.