Winning Bizness Desk

New Delhi. As soon as the government abolished the fair cap on air fares, the prices have started showing a big drop. Airfares, which were skyrocketing till last month, are now on the ground. The government had abolished the obligation of fair cap only last week. The fair cap meant that companies could not keep the rent below the fixed limit and could not increase the rent more than the upper limit. But, after the end of this mandatory fare regime, in view of the increasing competition in the market, companies are making full preparations to woo their customers. This is the reason why companies like Akasa Air, Indigo, AirAsia, GoFirst and Vistara have made big cuts in their fares.

Akasa Air Halved Fares

The airline Akasa Air, which started just a month ago, has drastically cut fares on all its routes. This company is currently offering air travel on the Mumbai-Bangalore route for Rs 2,000-2,200, whereas till last month the fare on this route was Rs 3,948 per person. Similarly, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad fare was 5,008 till last month, which has now come down to Rs 1,400. The country's largest airline IndiGo has also cut all its fares on Akasa Air routes, while Go-First is also slashing fares on these routes.

Delhi-Lucknow fare reduced by 50%

While airlines were charging Rs 3,500-4,000 from Delhi to Lucknow till last month, it has now come down to Rs 1,900 to Rs 2,200. The cheapest fares on this route are from Air Asia and Indigo. Similarly, the airfare between Kochi and Bangalore has come down from Rs 1,100 to Rs 1,300. Go-First, IndiGo and AirAsia are charging the lowest fares on this route.

Indicating the rapid growth

The airfare on the Mumbai-Jaipur route was Rs 5,000 to Rs 5,500 till a few days ago, which has now come down to Rs 3,900. Experts in the aviation sector say that the reduction in fares is a result of increased competition in the market. All airlines are cutting their fares, indicating the rapid growth of the sector. This will increase demand and help the aviation industry battling the Corona epidemic. A senior official of an airline said that the reduction in fares has also come due to low demand. On many routes, the demand remains low in July-September, due to which the fare also decreases in the off-season.

Festive season ahead

The festive season will start ahead and airfares may rise once again. However, despite this, the prices will remain low as the fares will be affected after the removal of the fair cap.According to a senior official, corporate travel has picked up since last month, giving confidence to domestic companies to cut their fares. Companies are expecting a boom in their business, the benefit of which they are passing on to the customers by cutting the rent. The government had fixed the price band on domestic airfares during the period of May, 2020 during the Corona period, so that the prices could not be increased unnecessarily.