Domestic airlines rain cheap fares ahead of monsoons

New Delhi, May 27 (UNI) With monsoons round the corner, domestic airlines are offering tickets at throw-away prices.

Several of them have announced special offers to woo passengers to travel during the rainy season which is considered a lean period.

Despite incurring heavy losses, airlines are offering tickets at Rs 225 or 99 paise. Budget carriers like Air Deccan, GoAir and SpiceJet have even offered free tickets to passengers.

Full service carrier Jet Airways is also joining the monsoon offer bandwagon to fill space during the lean season.

These cheap fares are tactics to stimulate passengers to travel more, say industry analysts, and fill as many seats as possible. The rainy season is the worst time for airlines. Therefore, airlines are selling seats in advance by offering cheaper fares.

According to estimates, domestic airlines posted a net loss of about Rs 2,000 crore during last financial year.

Jet Airways, the country's largest private airline, is offering special advance fares in 40 sectors, including Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Goa.

The airlines' monsoon fares are priced lower than normal economy or check fares. Under the scheme on offer, passengers can book flights on certain domestic routes 10, 15, 20 and 25 days before the travel date, and the journey should be undertaken by September 30.

More UNI