Airlines woo fliers with cheap fares, free tickets

AI offers one ticket free for each premier booking, SpiceJet will offer tickets priced at Rs 777

Air India and SpiceJet on Wednesday came out with offers, including free tickets, to attract more fliers as the airlines look to increase seat occupancy amid stiff competition.

While Air India is giving one ticket free for every booking in First Class and Business Class, SpiceJet would be offering tickets priced as low as Rs 777 on select routes.

Amid the domestic aviation sector growing at over 20 per cent for the past two years, airlines are working on ways to tap the demand, mainly by way of discounted tickets.

Under the 'Buy One Fly Two' offer, national carrier Air India would give one ticket free on First Class and Business Class on non-metro routes in the domestic sector. Both bookings and travel would be valid till May 31, according to a release.

An official at Air India said the scheme is aimed at increasing the occupancy in these two classes where generally only around 50 per cent of the seats are filled.

Announcing 'Lucky 7 Sale', budget airline SpiceJet said it would offer "all inclusive one-way fares as low as Rs 777 for travel to select destinations on its domestic network".

The sale would be open till midnight of February 25 while people can book the tickets under this window for travel between March 9 and April 13.

The Rs 777 all inclusive fare is valid on various routes including Jammu-Srinagar and Agartala-Guwahati.

Travel portal Yatra.Com's COO (B2C) Sharat Dhall said that at a time where airfares are higher than the usual for the next two weeks, the sale announcement by SpiceJet has come as a pleasant surprise.

In January, domestic airlines carried 95.79 lakh passenger and the growth stood at 25.13 per cent, according to data available with aviation regulator DGCA.