October
has traditionally been a strong season for air traffic. But this year, domestic
passenger traffic declined by 15.7 per cent in October. Industry players and
aviation analysts say that the reason behind this is a combination of factors,
including high air fares and a slowing economy.
The
air fare jump was nearly 30 per cent compared with last year, according to
aviation experts. The grounding of Kingfisher Airlines, which had 19 per cent
market share last year, has had an impact on the soaring air fares.
“Though
Indigo and SpiceJet have added capacity, the presence of an additional airline
makes a difference in air fares, especially during the peak season,” said
Sanjay Bhasin, Managing Director (MD), Goibibo, online travel portal.
According
to data submitted by various airlines, the number of domestic passengers
dropped to 45.55 lakh in October from over 54 lakh in October 2011.
Looking
ahead
While
October could not bring cheer for the aviation sector, airlines are thinking
out-of-the-box to woo passengers through various deals and offers. “Airlines
such as IndiGo, Go Air and Air India have offered discounts of up to 50 per
cent that has prompted travellers to make their bookings for the coming year
between January and March, 2013,” said Pratik Mazumder, Head of Marketing and
Strategic Alliance, Yatra.com.
Air
India that strengthened its market share to 20.8 per cent in October has
launched a special promotion scheme to attract travellers for the lean period
of January-March. The sale that was open for three days from November 19 to 21
was available for travel on more than 325 city pairs. The fares, inclusive of
all taxes, under this scheme ranged from Rs 1,799 to Rs 4,199.
Under
the scheme, some of the fares in specific routes included, Chennai—Delhi: Rs
3,699; Delhi-Kolkata: Rs 3,699; Chennai-Mumbai: Rs 2,699; Delhi-Mumbai: Rs
3,699; Chennai-Kolkata: Rs 2,699; Kochi-Trivandrum: Rs 1,799; Chennai-Pune: Rs
1,799; Imphal-Guwahati: Rs 1,799; Kolkata-Bhubaneswar: Rs 1,799 and
Mumbai-Ahmedabad: Rs 1,799.
While
Air India is aggressively trying to regain its market share, other players such
as Jet Airways have also come up with schemes for the lean season ahead.
Innovative
schemes
Jet
Airways recently introduced short-haul “One Fare Pass” for domestic travellers.
The “One Fare Pass” booklets contain four coupons that will be applicable for
travel in both Premiere and Economy Class on domestic flights, less than 750
kms in distance.
The
four-coupon “One Fare Pass” will be valid for sale from November 21 to March
31. Travel validity is six months from the date of issue. Each coupon will have
equal value and will be equivalent to the cost of an air ticket in over 120
sectors.
The
Premiere class booklet will have a total value of Rs 49,216 (inclusive of all
taxes). The Economy class “One Fare Pass” will contain four coupons worth of Rs
19,606 for Jet Airways and Rs 17,254 for JetKonnect (inclusive of all taxes).
The coupons will be more beneficial for corporate travellers, making
last-minute bookings and for travellers making bookings during weekends or
holidays, when the fares are usually high.
Apart
from giving seasonal offers, no-frill carrier IndiGo, the market leader in
terms of the number of passengers carried, increased frequencies in the
existing domestic and international routes.
In
a recent seminar on aviation in Mumbai, Aditya Ghosh, President of IndiGo, had
said airline fares were fairly high during the fiscal and many carriers
deployed their capacity on international routes.
Ghosh
said that IndiGo deployed 12-13 per cent of its capacity on international
routes.
The
airline has applied for more international routes, but its focus will remain on
increasing frequencies on the existing international routes, Ghosh had said.
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