Air India cuts basic fares, Jet follows suit
Monday, December 29, 2008 by Shrish Pandey
"New Delhi | Mumbai: Following the repeated pleas of civil aviation minister to slash air fares, the state-carrier Air India today responded by announcing a sharp cut in the basic fares on 20 domestic routes. The announcement was immediately followed up by the market leader, Jet Airways, which cut basic fares on economy class up to 40 per cent on the value carrier JetLite, with immediate effect. The quantum of rate cut on an Air India ticket varies between 35 to 82 per cent on all leading sectors, effective from Tuesday. Following the sharp decline in the price of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), which had reached August 2005 levels, Air India was the first airline to announce a Rs 400 reduction in fuel surcharge in December-beginning, that was followed by Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines.
With the latest cuts, a one-way Air India ticket on Delhi-Mumbai sector has been reduced by 49 per cent at Rs.1,675 from Rs.3,300. Similarly, one-way Mumbai-Bangalore basic fare now stands at Rs 1,200, down by 52 per cent from Rs.2,475. The highest reduction is on the Chennai-Bangalore sector, where the basic fare after the cut is Rs. 200, down by 82 per cent. These fares are exclusive of taxes and fuel surcharge. On a JetLite ticket, a Mumbai - Delhi economy class basic fare now stands at Rs 750 and a Mumbai – Chennai basic fare will be Rs 595.
On Sunday, Kingfisher had announced a rate cut from January 1, without specifying the quantum of cut. When contacted, a spokesperson from the airline said that a decision on the quantum of cut in their basic fares would be announced shortly. Till now, airlines have resisted from effecting a reduction in the basic fares. However, with oil marketing companies set to review ATF prices on December 31, another downward revision of jet fuel seems likely. The fuel is now sold at Rs 32,691.28 per kilolitre in Delhi after prices were slashed by Rs 4,208.37 in the first week of December.
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