SpiceJet trumps all: Slashes base fare to Re 1 for travel between July 2014 to March 2015

MUMBAI/DELHI: SpiceJet is making sure Indians continue to fly cheap this year. The budget carrier Tuesday launched an offer of base fares starting at Re 1 for travel between July 1 2014 and March 28, 2015.

The offer is available between April 1 and 3.

“These fares will allow families to plan their vacations and weekend trips at fares lower than train fares with joy and freedom, now that the pressure of March school exams is finally over. But they need to move fast as seats are limited," said Kaneswaran Avili, SpiceJet's new chief commercial officer.

What's more, there is no fuel surcharge levied on the Rupee 1 fares, the airline said in its website. The offer is primarily on new routes that the airline started on its summer schedule.

ET had on March 6 reported the airline would focus on better time slots and connectivity between the tier-1 cities to attract more corporate travellers. Sticking to that, it has introduced same day return flights from Bengaluru to Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai, Chennai to Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai and from Delhi to Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai.

The airline has also introduced Rs 799 and Rs 1499 fares on some routes, with bookings valid till April 4.

"This is a great way to stimulate the market when load factors are low," said Debashish Sinha, vice president for airline contracting at Makemytrip. "But usually, airlines offer inventory for about 6 months. The offer being valid till March end is new," he added.

SpiceJet has upgraded its reservation system Navitaire to be able to sell more inventory and handle higher traffic, a spokesperson said.

The airline started the first fare war of the year on January 21 by announcing 50% off on tickets for travel till April 15. It followed that with a second offer on March 11 for tickets starting Rs 1999.

Offers valid for a close to a year in advance is the signature style of Malaysian carrier AirAsia, which is soon set to start operations local operations in India.

SpiceJet recently appointed two executives who have been with the carrier--Avili and its head of revenue management Fares Azeem Kilpady. Meanwhile, Go Air has matched SpiceJet's Re 1 fares on some routes. IndiGo already has lower fares on its Delhi routes such ranging between Rs 941 to Rs 1201, but hasn't followed the Re 1 fares scheme yet.