Budget carrier IndiGo on Thursday announced all-inclusive fares starting Rs 1,499 to take on its rival SpiceJet, which has come up with a series of discounted offers over the past two weeks. IndiGo's starting price for air tickets is priced Rs 100 lower than SpiceJet's 'Special Valentine' Rs 1,599 offer.
(Read: SpiceJet Sale is Back, Tickets From Rs 1,599)
Seats under IndiGo's promotional offer, however, are available on select routes such as Delhi-Jaipur and are valid on bookings made 90 days before travel date. SpiceJet's promotional offer, open till February 6, is applicable on travel between February 14 and April 15, 2015.
The trend for massive discounts on airfares was started by SpiceJet last year and it seems that the new management led by co-founder Ajay Singh is comfortable with the airline's aggressive strategy. SpiceJet's 'Super Sale' offer for 5 lakh seats, announced on January 28, resulted in a whopping 400 per cent jump in bookings, the airline has claimed.
Loss-making SpiceJet was grounded briefly in December 2014 because of a cash crunch. IndiGo, one of the few profitable airlines, is India's biggest carrier by market share.
(Read: SpiceJet Future Now Looks Secure, Says Top Executive)
AirAsia India, Jet Airways and GoAir have all announced discounted fares on advance travel over the last few days. AirAsia India's discounted offer promises tickets for as low as Rs 699 (all-inclusive) on advance bookings; the offer is applicable on travel between August 3, 2015 and March 26, 2016 and will close on February 8. (AirAsia India Extends Rs 699 Offer)
The slew of offers are meant to fill up seats in the lean travel season - between January and the start of the summer break in May - when traffic growth dips. Promotional offers from different airlines boosted passenger traffic growth last year. During January to November 2014, passenger traffic growth was more than 9 per cent.
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