Air India has also joined the price war that broke out in domestic skies on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Air India revised its ‘D minus 7-day’ fare (ticket booking at least seven days in advance), which offers discounts on select sectors. Sources, however, indicated that the one-way discounted fares were available on almost all flights and sectors.
Confirming the launch of the revised ‘D minus 7-day’ fare, sources in the airline said at the moment this was an “open ended offer” although the airline may decide to withdraw it any time.
Passengers will have to book their tickets at least seven days in advance to get the lowest possible fares on travel with the airline.
“The discounts on offer are similar to what is being offered by competitors. We are not offering discounts for immediate travel, as we do not want to dilute our yields. “The special discounted fares are valid for travel till September 30, but there are some days on which these fares will not be available,” sources said. For commercial reasons, the airline is not disclosing the days on which these discounted fares will not be available.
Air India’s decision comes less than 24 hours after Jet Airways announced that it was offering over 20 lakh seats at a discount of up to 50 per cent.
Industry watchers say that the Delhi-based low-cost airline IndiGo was also offering discounts of up to 30 per cent on select routes.