Air India announces fare cut up to 82pc

A day after Jet Airways reduced fares on domestic routes, state-owned operator Air India on Tuesday announced fare cut up to 82 percent in at least 20 sectors, mostly on metro routes, a senior airline official said.

"The new fare cut comes into effect today (Tuesday). We have cut fares on 20 sectors by up to 82 per cent. This will largely benefit passengers on metro routes," an airline spokesperson told reporters.

India's leading private air carrier Jet Airways Monday reduced fares on its domestic routes by up to 40 percent with immediate effect.

Another leading carrier, Kingfisher Airlines, Sunday announced fare cut from Jan 1. However, it has not announced the quantum of fare cut.

Low cost carriers are also expected to follow suit, said an industry official. The fare cuts comes in the wake of slackening demand in the post-peak season and continued decline in fuel prices.

Over the past four months, there has been a sharp decline in aviation fuel prices. While some air carriers earlier this month reduced the fuel surcharge on the ticket price by Rs 200 to Rs 400, they did not touch the base fare.

Oil companies have reduced aviation fuel prices seven times since September. The fuel is now sold at Rs 32,691.28 per kilolitre in Delhi after prices were slashed by Rs 4,208.37 in the first week of December.

Source: Airlines