Alliance Air’s Fixed Airfare Scheme Unveiled By Aviation Minister — Here's How It Works

Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu Kinjarapu on Monday launched Alliance Air's 'Fare Se Fursat' scheme, which is designed to prevent volatility in flight ticket rates.

This is a "historic initiative" by the government-owned regional carrier, and aims at giving passengers "freedom from the stress of fluctuating airfares", and promoting ease of flying in the country, the aviation ministry said in a statement.

"The 'Fare Se Fursat' scheme perfectly aligns with the core principles of the UDAN scheme. Today, Alliance Air is carrying forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of democratizing aviation and making it affordable for the middle class, lower-middle class and neo-middle class," Naidu said at the launch.

Under this scheme, Alliance Air will offer a single, fixed fare that remains constant regardless of the booking date, even on the day of departure, the statement said.

The initiative will be implemented on a pilot basis from Oct. 13 to Dec. 31, 2025 across select routes, to evaluate its operational feasibility and passenger response.

"The static fare system eliminates uncertainty and stress associated with fluctuating airfares, ensuring predictability of costs, even for last-minute bookings," the aviation minister added.

According to the August DGCA monthly traffic numbers, Alliance Air flew a total of 37,000 passengers in the reporting month and held a 0.3% share of the 1.29 crore passengers flown by all domestic carriers that month.

The airline had clocked a load factor of 68.7% while its OTP was the lowest among the five airlines - IndiGo, Akasa, Air India Group and SpiceJet--at 55% during August 2025, as per DGCA data.

This move comes amid the festive season, when airfares usually spike due to a surge in demand. As per data provided by Ixigo and EaseMyTrip, air travel demand has surged by 60-70%, which has resulted in higher airfare especially on metro routes. Airfares in the run-up to Diwali 2025 have risen sharply as compared to last year.

Rikant Pittie, CEO and Co-Founder of EaseMyTrip exclusively told NDTV Profit last week that on major domestic routes, ticket prices are up by more than 50% year-on-year, reflecting strong travel demand.

He said, "Key routes from Hyderabad experienced particularly steep spikes, with fares to Jaipur increasing from Rs 6,500 to Rs 12,000 and to Delhi rising from Rs 4,000–7,000 to around Rs 7,000–12,000. This contrasts with the Diwali season in 2024, when average airfares on many domestic routes had declined by 20–30%."

Earlier this month, civil aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) reviewed airfare trends ahead of festive season rush. DGCA has asked airlines to augment flight capacities by deploying additional flights.

IndiGo will deploy approximately 730 additional flights across 42 sectors. Air India and Air India Express will deploy approximately 486 additional flights across 20 sectors. SpiceJet will deploy of approximately 546 additional flights across 38 sectors.