Airlines roll out discounts to woo fliers as Covid ebbs
NEW DELHI: Airlines are rolling out various discounts and promotional offers to attract passengers as air traffic slowly recovers with a fall in active number of Covid-19 cases.
No-frill carrier SpiceJet Limited on Friday rolled out a monsoon sale offering one way all inclusive domestic fares at ₹999 on routes like Hyderabad-Belgaum, Belgaum-Hyderabad, Chennai-Hyderabad, Chennai Bengaluru amongst others.
The sale offer is valid for bookings made between June 25 to June 30, 2021, for travel between August 1, 2021 to 31st March, 2022.
Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, has announced a 48-hour sale ending on Friday for travel between August 1 and October 12.
“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 domestic airline, is offering a discount of up to 10% on the base fares to customers that have been vaccinated against Covid-19.
The various discounts and promotions rolled out by airlines come at a time when air passenger traffic saw a rise for the third straight week during the week ending on June 19 as a drop in Covid-19 cases and easing of curbs by most states led more people to take to the skies.
Air passenger traffic fell for 10 consecutive weeks between March and May due to the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.
The average number of daily fliers rose to 103,000 for the week ended June 19, from 83,000 fliers a week ago, brokerage firm ICICI Securities said in a recent report.
“During the second wave, gains made by airlines were wiped off as air passenger traffic fell sharply during the AprilMay period. However, the aviation sector is seeing a slight recovery,” said a senior airline official, who spoke under condition of anonymity.
“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,” the official added.