Mumbai: No-frills airlines IndiGo, GoAir and AirAsia India today launched several discount schemes to attract passengers in the upcoming months despite the carriers being hit by rising oil prices and a depreciating rupee. The inability of airlines to pass on costs to passengers has resulted in them reporting lower profits and losses, in some cases, during the previous quarters.
The largest domestic airline by passengers carried, IndiGo, said in a statement that it was offering discounts on one million seats to 59 destinations in its network for all-inclusive one-way fares starting at ₹ 999. Bookings of flight tickets for the four-day “festive sale” offer began from Monday for travel between 18 September 2018 and 30 March 2019, IndiGo said.
The airline has also offered a super cash amount of up to ₹ 600, or 20% refund, on booking tickets through mobile wallet provider MobiKwik.
AirAsia India has offered flight tickets to over 120 destinations, starting at ₹ 999 for domestic travel and ₹ 1,399 for international travel, the airline said in a statement.
AirAsia’s discounts are applicable on flights to Bengaluru, New Delhi, Kolkata, Kochi, Goa, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Pune, Guwahati, Imphal, Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Srinagar, Bagdogra, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Nagpur, Indore, Surat, Amritsar and Chennai. Discounts on international routes include flights to Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Krabi, Sydney, Auckland, Melbourne, Singapore and Bali.
Bookings for the eight-day “big sale” begun on 2 September for travel between 19 February and 26 November 2019.
The Wadia Group-owned GoAir is offering tickets on its domestic network starting at ₹ 1,099 for travel between 3 September and 31 March 2019. Bookings for the three-day sale start on 3 September.
This four-day special sale reinforces IndiGo’s commitment of providing all our customers with an on-time, courteous and hassle-free experience at low fares, said IndiGo’s chief commercial officer William Boulter.
The various discounts come at a time when airlines in India have been hammered by higher jet fuel prices, a weaker rupee and intense competition, restricting their ability to raise fares to cover higher costs. In the past year, Brent crude has gained 47.79%, while the rupee has weakened 9.58 % against the dollar.
“The upcoming months, till the festive season, is generally considered a lean period for travel. The airlines are trying to increase demand with their discounts,” said an analyst with a foreign brokerage.
“Indian airlines, which are operating in a price-sensitive market, do not have an option but to discount their tickets, especially if the market leader initiates a price war,” the analyst added.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents 290 airlines accounting for 82% of global air traffic, had in June slashed its forecast for industry profits, including in India, in calendar year 2018 on rising fuel and labour costs and higher interest rates.
IATA expects global airlines to achieve a collective net profit of $33.8 billion in 2018, a 12% downward revision from the December 2017 forecast of $38.4 billion.
