Air India takes on Rajdhani, lowers fares

State run carrier trying to gain advantage out of Indian Railways decision to introduce dynamic fares on Rajdhani, Shatabdi trains

GN Bureau | January 6, 2017


#Air India   #PSU   #Rajdhani   #air fare   #scheme  

 In its bid to boost passenger traffic, national carrier Air India has slashed economy class fares to match those offered by Indian Railways premium train—Rajdhani Express on select routes.

The Air India economy class fare starts at Rs 1,080 for flights, mostly originating from New Delhi. According to Air India, the cheapest economy class ticket is available at Rs 1,080 for a Delhi-Jaipur flight whereas the maximum fare under this scheme is pegged at Rs 4,730 for a Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram service. The tickets under the scheme can be booked from January 6 to April 10, 2017.
 
Notably, Air India and many private airlines have tightened their belts to bring down fares to directly compete with Indian Railways’ premium trains like Rajdhani Express which usually has higher fares than the many low cost carriers (LCCs). A majority of airlines register poor inflow of passengers in the last quarter of the fiscal.
 
The offer would be available for sale through all distribution channels 20 days or more prior to departure of the flight.
 
The Delhi-Mumbai flight is available at Rs 2,401 whereas one has to shell out around Rs 2,900 for a two tier ticket of Rajdhani Express for the same destination.
 
Interestingly, one has to pay around Rs 2,000 to travel from New Delhi to Lucknow in (12436) New Delhi-Dibrugarh Express’ second tier on January 26 which includes dynamic fare of Rs 573 recently opted by the Indian Railways to boost its depleting revenue. On the other hand, Delhi-Lucknow flight of Air India ticket is available at Rs 1,520.
 

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