Airfares head south as rail travel gets costlier
Air Costa offered special fares for bookings made from June 20 to June 23 on select sectors
New Delhi: Even as rail fares have been hiked, airfares are heading southwards due to intense competition among airlines which is leading to frequent promotional offers by carriers.
With the challenge from new airline AirAsia India, low-cost carriers like SpiceJet and IndiGo have been offering cheaper lucrative promotional fares that have come as a bonanza for passengers both this summer and beyond.
On Friday, Air Costa announced special offer fares for flights during the period between July 3 and August 31, 2014. The offer is valid for bookings made between June 20 to June 23 on select sectors.
While alluringly cheap fares are being offered as part of the promotional fares that can give the train-fares stiff competition and a comfortable run for their money, regular air-fares including spot fares are still significantly higher than all-inclusive train fares in the second AC category although the gap has been narrowed.
But the difference is that while the rail-fare is government-controlled, the air-fares are decided purely by the market. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be given a comprehensive briefing by the civil aviation ministry on Satur-day on all issues affecting the aviation sector including the financial health of the sector.
In fact, just recently aviation market leader IndiGo had unveiled a round of all-inclusive one-way promotional fares that saw the Delhi-Kolkata, Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Chennai sectors at about Rs 3,000.