Hard landing here

New Delhi, July 22: The fare war unleashed on Monday by Sahara prompted its rival Jet Airways to riposte with similar price cuts on discounted tickets.

Jet Airways today announced its slashed fare package called Special Monsoon Super Apex, which reduced air fares one way between Delhi and Mumbai to Rs 2,500 and between Delhi and Calcutta to Rs 3,000.

The fares from September 15 to mid-October come two days after the Sahara fare cut. Indian Airlines officials indicated that they too planned to have a relook at their fare structures soon.

However, aviation analysts said the deep discounts were limited to very few seats on any given flight “numbering between five and 12 at most” and would be withdrawn once the winter peak season starts.

A Jet spokesperson said passengers would have to purchase a ticket 30 days in advance and the entire journey against these fares must be completed on or before October 15.

Jet also announced Special Monsoon Point-to-Point and return excursion fares, which will be valid from July 26 and will involve a combination of travel to non-metro sectors via metro sectors.

The private carrier also launched special innovative fares for Patna and Lucknow. According to this scheme, economy class passengers on the Delhi-Lucknow-Delhi sector will have to pay Rs 1,999 against Rs 3,790.

Similarly, two passengers on Delhi-Patna-Delhi sector could travel while paying for one, the release said.

Earlier years have seen similar dogfights during the leaner monsoon months among the three domestic airlines with rounds of fare cuts which had customers bemused for a while. However, winters, which are traditionally peak seasons, have always seen a reversal of the trend.

The fare cuts were also aimed at stalling any new no-frills airlines from entering the market with cheap tickets, airline executives added. However, the threat from these airlines is yet not taken seriously by the bigger players as they feel they are “more talk and less action”.