Akasa, IndiGo slash fares as competition heats up in domestic market

Prices lower by 20-25% on Akasa Air's three routes, discounts being offered even for close-in travel

Newly launched Akasa Air is locked in a fare war with rivals as it looks to fill up flights. Akasa Air, which launched flights on August 7, operates flights on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Mumbai-Bengaluru, and Bengaluru-Kochi routes.

Airfares on these routes have dropped by around 20-25 per cent and discounted seats are available for sale on certain flights even for close-in travel. Typically, discounted tickets are sold beyond the 0-15-day travel window.

The fare war comes in a low travel season and with the government lifting the cap and ceiling on airfares from August end.

For instance, on Friday, Akasa is offering a one-way Mumbai-Ahmedabad ticket for Saturday for Rs 1,597. Tickets on two IndiGo flights on this route are priced at Rs 1,609. Seats are also priced at Rs 4,262 for Saturday flights.

While one-way seats on Mumbai-Bengaluru route are priced upwards of Rs 5,102 till Tuesday, discounted tickets are available from Wednesday. Akasa’s tickets for its Wednesday flights are available for Rs 1,997. Go First’s tickets for its morning flight were available for Rs 1,999.

AirAsia India is selling seats on the Bengaluru-Kochi route on Saturday (September 3) upwards of Rs 1,813. Similarly, next Thursday and Friday’s seats on Akasa’s Bengaluru-Kochi flights are being sold upwards for Rs 1,497.

An industry executive pointed out that most airlines are witnessing occupancy below 80 per cent. SpiceJet reported a load factor of 80.8 per cent on Thursday. The load factor is reported for the entire network. For other airlines, loads are in the low 70 per cent. The total number of passengers flown by domestic airlines was under 300,000 on Thursday.

“Airlines by and large are maintaining fare discipline though loads are below 80 per cent,” an aviation source said.

Akasa Air and IndiGo did not immediately comment on their pricing policy.

“Capacity has increased with the launch of Akasa Air. IndiGo, too, has added flights on those routes. Airlines have lowered fares to stimulate the market. From an airline’s financial perspective, the positive sign is that low fares are not being offered on all flights between Mumbai-Ahmedabad and Bengaluru-Kochi,” said Ameya Joshi, founder of aviation blog Network Thoughts.

Mumbai-Ahmedabad

Rs 1,597: One-way ticket for Akasa

Rs 1,609: Price of two IndiGo flights on same route

Bengaluru-Kochi

Rs 1,813: Price of one AirAsia ticket

Rs 1,497: Price of Akasa

Mumbai-Bengaluru

Rs 1,997: One-way ticket for Akasa

Rs 1,999: Cost of Go First morning flight