Singapore Airlines offers 40% discount

In a bid to give further fillip to leisure travel from Gujarat this summer, Singapore Airlines today, launched internet promotional midnight escapades fare "� about 40 per cent discount to the major Australian cities Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

"Gujarat travellers are majorly leisure based and are still growing in numbers while business tourist accounts for less than 10 per cent. We are also introducing new destinations like Bali, Hong Kong, Shanghai etc as tourist destination so that they don't have to go to the same place," Edmond Lim, manager Gujarat, Singapore Airlines said.

"Even executives, professionals and corporates can go for weekend trips to these destinations," he added.

It will also come out with attractive packages with travel agents to promote the new tourist centres, he added.

The return fare to the Australian cities have been put at Rs 20,000, exclusive of taxes and surcharges, about 40 per cent discount of the lowest economy fare, he added.

Travellers have to book the tickets online, the booking for which ends on May 8 and is valid from travel till May 31.

Currently, the airlines flies 47 flights from eight Indian cities every week and it operates thrice a week to Ahmedabad. It will introduce Airbus 380 with a capacity of around 500 seats in the country this year.

He added that there are no figures available for Gujarat travellers but expects that it would grow by around 20 per cent YoY.

He also said, in its long term strategy, it will also try to expand the market of business tourists in the state.

The airlines has been able to come out with a low fare despite the Aviation Turbine Fuel shooting up by adjusting through its fuel surcharges, he said.