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SpiceJet joins low-fare race; puts up 5 lakh seats starting Rs 1,499

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New Delhi: Budget carrier SpiceJet Wednesday joined the low-fare race in the domestic market putting on the block half-a-million seats with ticket prices starting at Rs 1,499, days after the government gave a go-ahead to its revival plan under the new promoters.

The bookings under the three-day “Super Sale” offer can be made from Wednesday for a travel period between February 15 to June 30, SpiceJet said in a release.

The offer comes close on the heels of other airlines — AirAsia India, Jet Airways, Air India and IndiGo — rolling out similar schemes amid low travel demand season.

March and September quarters of the fiscal are traditionally lean seasons for the airlines in the country, and they woo customers with low fares to fill the empty seats.

“We are excited to offer our first signature promotion for 2015 to incentivise customers. Such Super Sale offers are meant to sell in advance at attractive prices seats that would otherwise be expected to go empty, thereby improving revenues,” SpiceJet Chief Commercial Officer Kaneswaran Avili said.

A quick glance at the seat factor, according to a recent DGCA data, suggests that domestic carriers had almost 10 percent higher occupancy in their planes in the December quarter of 2014 as compared to the March quarter of that year.

“Such offers have made a trip by air even more affordable than train or bus travel for those willing to book early to grab these offers,” he added.

“As we continue on our re-structuring path, the return of our Super Sale in 2015 at the onset of low season comes after a gap of few months, shows the airline is back on track,” he said.

“Such promotions are an integral part of the LCC pricing model. Such sales and promotions, if done right, are a win-win for customers, airlines, and the travel ecosystem at large,” the airline Chief Operating Officer Sanjiv Kapoor said.

According to travel portal Yatra.Com, the domestic carriers seem to be now focussing on getting advance bookings while not ruling out a few more such offerings before the peak demand season sets in.

“Indian carriers are taking a cue from the international market. Our market is a last minute booking one, and the airlines have been quite successful in generating travellers’ interest as the travel period goes up to holiday season,” Yatra.Com President Sharat Dhall said.

“We at Yatra have already seen our economy bookings increase by over 200 per cent for both domestic and outbound routes, and there is a doubling of business class bookings post the prices being reduced on key routes,” he said.

He said even SpiceJet has seen tremendous response with bookings for most of the sector surging by a whopping 150 per cent and a few sector like Delhi-Goa and Mumbai-Goa registering an even higher growth.

“This sale offer coming from SpiceJet after a gap of few months shows the airline is back on track. Travel period offered under this sale covers summer vacation and is a good opportunity for people to plan their holidays in advance at very exciting rate,” TripFactory.Com founder and Chief Executive Vinay Gupta said.

SpiceJet, which is in the process of management control and ownership change, had rolled out a series of flash sales offer last year also to “stimulate” demand.

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