New Delhi, Aug. 18 :    New Delhi, Aug. 18:  Air Sahara today kicked off the mother of all fare wars in Indian skies with a new permanent ticket auctioning system where travellers can bid for a seat on a flight 25 days in advance - the bonanza, however, will come with a few strings attached. The system, modelled on Europe's highly successful Ryan Air's ticket selling strategy, offers travellers a chance to bid for up to 10 per cent of all tickets between 25 days and 15 days from the flight date. The three airlines operating in the Indian skies are already slugging it out with fare cuts and various kinds of promos, but this is expected to trigger off a fresh and considerably more intense round of fare wars. 'We are bringing in the international system of ticket bidding. By doing this, we want to sell off all the extra seats that are now going vacant ... and it is certainly going to catch my rivals off guard. I have nothing to lose in this, but they (as far bigger and more entrenched players) have, in fact lots more,' Air Sahara chief executive Uttam Bose said. The airline claims an average occupancy of 55 per cent, lower than the 65-70 per cent that aviation pundits say is necessary for an airline to remain profitable, and has a market share of just under 10 per cent. However, while the traveller can technically bid for as low as Re 1 just 25 days away from the flight date, a lower bid ceiling sets in from the next day and progressively goes up every subsequent day. For instance, a flier on the Delhi-Calcutta route can bid for Re 1 the day bidding starts. He gets to know that very day whether he is successful or not. Next day he can bid but at a price of more than Rs 2,400. The day after, this bottom ceiling goes up to Rs 2,550, and by the last day, that is 15 days from the flight date, the lower bid ceiling goes up to Rs 2,800. In comparison, first and second AC Rajdhani fares are Rs 4,370 and Rs 2,550 on the Delhi-Calcutta route. 'I know I will be selling tickets at rates lower than the Rajdhani Express and railway minister Nitish Kumar might well object. But I have checked with my lawyers and this system does not contravene any monopoly laws of any kind,' Bose said. Bids will be opened the same day and announced after 8.00 pm every day. Those bidding on the internet can do so right up to 8.00 pm but those bidding through travel agents can only bid till 4.00 pm. After this, unsuccessful bidders are offered a chance to buy the ticket they had bid for at a slightly higher rate, which too varies from day to day. While 24 days from the flight, a Delhi-Calcutta traveller can buy the ticket at a 'price buy' of Rs 2,800, almost equal to the discounted fare of Rs 2,860 at which Jet and Indian Airlines are selling tickets 21 days in advance right now. By the last day of the bidding for the flight in question, this 'price buy' goes up to Rs 4,000, against a published fare of Rs 6,400. However, there are catches to the system. There can be no cancellation of sales made through this system, they can be postponed only once on payment of Rs 100 and for a date as far away from the day the traveller intimates that he wants a postponement, as he was from the original day of travel when he bid. Also, bidders can make only one bid, the computer will reject any bids from the same person even if made from different places. 'We don't really think any seat will go for just Re 1 but on certain sectors they could go at say Rs 500, when the published fare is Rs 4,000,' a senior Air Sahara executive said. Bose added that he would be inducting some three new wide-bodied Boeing 437-700s and 8 new 50-seater Bombardier jets by December end, tripling the number of flights from a current 53 a day. Rivals Jet Airways and Indian Airlines are scrambling to face up to the new threat in the skies. However, a Jet Airways spokesperson declined comment on the Air Sahara move, while IA officials could not be reached for their reaction.