Airlines roll out discounts to woo fliers as covid ebbs
Premium- Airlines are offering deals and discounts to woo passengers willing to travel following the decline in active covid-19 cases in India
Airlines are offering deals and discounts to woo passengers willing to travel following the decline in active covid-19 cases in India.
For instance, no-frills carrier SpiceJet Ltd on Friday launched a one-way monsoon sale with an all-inclusive fare of ₹999 on domestic routes, such as Hyderabad-Belgaum, Belgaum-Hyderabad, Chennai-Hyderabad and Chennai-Bengaluru. The offer is valid for bookings made on 25-30 June, for travelling between 1 August 2021 and 31 March 2022.
Likewise, Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, announced a 48-hour sale event ending 25 June for travel between 1 August and 12 October.
“The unfortunate second wave of covid-19 compelled many to put their travel plans on hold. As the situation begins to gradually improve and demand starts to return, we are happy to invite travellers to fly the airline that India trusts the most to their destinations, at these attractive fares," said Vinod Kannan, chief commercial officer, Vistara, in a statement.
Meanwhile, InterGlobe Aviation Ltd-operated IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, is offering a discount of up to 10% on base fares for vaccinated customers.
The promotional offers by airlines follow a rise in air passenger traffic for the third straight week ending 19 June as lockdown restrictions were relaxed by most states, after falling for 10 weeks in a row between March and May with the outbreak of the second wave of covid-19 infections. The average number of daily fliers rose to 103,000 for the week ended 19 June, from 83,000 a week ago, broking firm ICICI Securities said in a report.
“During the second wave, gains made by airlines were wiped off as air passenger traffic fell sharply during the April-May period. However, the aviation sector is seeing a slight recovery," said a senior airline official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“The June-August quarter is traditionally weak for airlines due to monsoons. Then there is the fear of covid-19 that is keeping many from taking flights or going for a vacation. The promotional offers rolled out by various airlines are steps to attract passengers to travel," he added.
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Domestic air passenger traffic in India is expected to rise 52% this fiscal year while international passenger traffic is expected to increase by 60%, reviving from the turbulence caused by the pandemic, aviation consultancy Capa India said on Thursday.
Overall, however, passenger traffic is expected to remain well below the pre-pandemic levels, added the consultancy firm in its India Aviation Outlook FY22.
Capa India expects about 80 million passengers to fly on domestic routes and 16 million overseas travellers this fiscal year, up from 53 million domestic passengers and 10 million international passengers during FY21.
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