SpiceJet removes special sale offer on DGCA direction

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked SpiceJet to withdraw its special sale offer to boost ticket sales as it violates the terms set by the government to regulate fares. SpiceJet late on Monday said it has complied.

The budget carrier on Monday had announced a five-day special sale offer of buying one ticket and getting one free in the bargain, a move seen as a bid to boost sales during the pandemic. Its offer involved giving the buyer of a ticket a voucher for another ticket amounting to the value of the ticket purchased. The scheme was valid for tickets booked between August 3 and August 7, and the vouchers were valid until March 2021.

“We have already complied with the DGCA directive,” said a SpiceJet spokesperson. The aviation regulator has asked the airline to not sell tickets under the offer as it violates the terms under the government's move to regulate fares.

After flights resumed on May 25, the government in an endeavour to protect financially stressed carriers announced a plan to regulate fares to ensure that airlines do not get into unsustainable pricing.