The flag carrier of the country – Air India (AI) is one of the leading airlines in the domestic market. As per reports, its on-time performance has been quite good throughout the year. It has been observed that the flight status of the flights operated by this carrier were on time or just a few minutes delayed from the scheduled departure in the study period. It serves national and international destinations with primary bases at Indira Gandhi and Chhatrapati Shivaji international airports. It is a part of the Government of India Enterprise and is counted among the most efficient operators of the country.
The airline has been a part of the Star Alliance since years and with a fleet size of around 99 aircraft, it serves popular destinations of the world. It has placed an order for 31 aircraft models that are expected to be delivered in the coming years. Experienced travellers find this airline to be the most convenient and reliable as its on-time performance is around 90 per cent. Most of the flights to Mysore, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and other destinations depart and arrive on schedule, as per industry reports. Air India flight status can easily be tracked online, either using a computer or mobile.
It recently launched a direct flight from New Delhi to Sydney/Melbourne. The chairman of the AI revealed the fact that Boeing Dream-liner 787 model will be used to carry passengers from one stop to another as its low-pressured cabins are suitable for long-haul journeys. During the announcement, he also said that they want to focus on performance and further added that AI has earned the faith and trust of people by improving reliability and safety standards. This carrier suffers from perceptions, which are different from reality and said that they need to change the image.
In case of a long-haul journey, air travel is often the first choice of travellers. However, now people book cheapest airfare available, in case of they have to cover short journeys like one city to another. With the advent of low-cost carriers (LCCs), this trend is growing day by day. Apart from being time effective, the services provided by airlines and discount on ticket prices allure travellers to book tickets with them. Recently, AirAsia introduced tickets at just INR 1290 on a number of domestic routes. The offer included an all inclusive ticket with the LCC to different destinations below INR 1300 for a travel period between 5th September and 11th December.
This Malaysia-based carrier has recently initiated its operations in India and is the first foreign airline to set up its business in the country. It currently caters to most of the South Indian cities, and launched a Bangalore-Jaipur-Chandigarh flight just a few weeks back. It may soon start operating flights to Amritsar, Lucknow and other North Indian cities in the coming months. This three-way venture between Telestra Tradeplace, AirAsia Berhad and Tata Group is emerging as one of the toughest competitors to LCCs already operating in the country in terms of pricing that leads to fare war.
A few days back SpiceJet gave out tickets at a base or INR 499, followed by all-inclusive tickets at just 1999. The LCC gave tickets for just 1887 to many destinations for almost a week as promotional offer. These flash sales have increased the number travellers booking a flight along with increasing the load factor. These offers mutually benefits passengers as well as airlines; hence, is a win-win situation for both and as a result, it has been quite successful since last years.
SpiceJet is the largest airline of the country on the basis of load factor and second largest when market share is considered. It is one of those carriers, which offer seats at lowest airfare. With more than 300 daily flights catering to around 49 destinations, this low-cost carrier (LCC) is grabbing market share at a fast rate. It has a fleet size of around 53 aircraft that includes Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft and Boeing 737s. The carrier has placed an order for 57 more aircraft to be delivered in a couple of years. As soon as these new models will be delivered, the company may start operations on new routes including international ones. Apart from this, the carrier is planning to lower ticket prices for passengers who travel without check-in baggage.
However, it has not been approved by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Its rival AirAisia is also looking forward to introduce this offer as soon as DGCA clears the proposal. Chief Operating Officer (COO) of SpiceJet said that this move will encourage travellers to come up with lighter bags, which in turn will reduce the fuel burn. It may increase booking in the coming months, as SpiceJet flight fares will be reduced after approval, attracting more business travellers. As per reports, AirAsia asked for the permission regarding this offer as soon as it initiated operations in India.
The unbundling of services reduces the cost of a ticket and gives passengers an option to pay for the services they are willing to avail. This step will benefit both travellers and LCCs; hence, the civil aviation authorities are considering this proposal. Global airlines such as British Airways already practice this method of pricing and it is quite successful over there. As per industry reports, more than 40 per cent people travel with no baggage and new pricing strategy would a boon for them.
The budget carrier – SpiceJet – recently rolled out festive offers for its customers. Now, travellers can enjoy cheap flights to Mangalore and other domestic destinations by booking tickets with this airline. It is the largest airline of the country on the basis of load factor and is the second largest when market share is considered. It carries around 20 per cent of fliers to their destinations, which is lower than IndiGo only. With a fleet size of more than 55 aircraft, including the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 and Boeing 737s, it operates over 340 flights on a daily basis. Around 49 national and international destinations are served by this low-cost carrier (LCC) all across the globe.
Now, travellers can get seats at even cheaper prices to different cities of India by availing the festive offers rolled out by the carrier. Industry experts credited the deals offered by the carrier for gaining huge market share and passengers in the previous quarter. Following the trend, officials are expecting an increase in SpiceJet booking in this quarter also. These discounts over low-priced tickets are attracting those people, who used traditional modes of transportation for decades; in turn, increasing the market share.
Travellers can make seat reservations at low cost till 10th of September. The deal has been divided into two parts; in the first one, people who have planned their trip between 16th January and 24th October 2015 can reserve seats at just INR 599 (exclusive of taxes). On the other hand, in the second offer, they can book tickets at just INR 1999 (all inclusive) for the travel dates between 7th October 2014 and 15 January 2015. As per several reports, it will be followed other carriers also, leading to fare war in the following weeks.
GoAir recently announced cheap air ticket for its flights operated from Port Blair. A concession of 30 per cent will be provided on base fare on all the routes connecting Port Blair. It is not a limited period offer, so residents of Andaman and Nicobar can avail this offer for the whole year. Private airline, GoAir on August 28 announced 30 per cent concession on the base fare of the flights to Port Blair and flights from Port Blair throughout the year for residents of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This step may increase the air traffic on this route, which in turn will help the terminal to improve itself. The vice president of the company said that they are happy to contribute towards the development of the economy, employment opportunities and quality of life of this region in the coming future.
It is one of the leading airlines of the country operated by the Wadia Group. This low-cost carrier (LCC) operates around 800 weekly flights on domestic routes catering to different destinations of around 22 cities. It recently announced new services from Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneshwar and is planning to serve international destinations in the coming months. The LCC is currently operating its flights on almost all the metro and non-metro routes, and is equipped with all the latest technologies.
This airline is best suited for travellers, who are looking for air tickets with all Economy Class seating as it provides low price tickets. However, people who want some extra legroom can opt for GoBusiness service, which offers seats in first three rows, which are comparatively more spacious. All the latest technologies such as Wi-Fi can be used during the flight, and booking or checking GoAir flight status is a quick and easy process. It was the first LCC in the country to offer the first frequent-flyer programme known as GoClub.
India is one of the fastest growing markets in all aspects, including the aviation industry. As per reports, Asian markets will witness a large number of fliers to the biggest players of the industry in the coming years. It is also suggested that around 930 million new passengers may opt for this fastest mode of transportation by the end of 2017. As a result, airlines are planning to grab the maximum number of passengers by offering high-end services at a reasonable cost. As per surveys done by industry analysts, Indian carriers provide cheapest air ticket for flights to Leh, Shimla and other tourist destinations. The onset of new players, especially low-cost carriers (LCCs) is changing the price mechanism, making it cheaper day-by-day. SpiceJet – the second largest carrier of the nation – recently announced the Early Bird Scheme, which offers tickets at a base fare of INR 499.
Discounts and more
A few days back, the carrier announced INR 1899 for a number of domestic routes, under a special scheme, followed by the national airline – Air India – which announced tickets at just INR 100 plus fuel surcharges and different taxes. This offer was available on tickets booked between September 1st and 3rd for the journey planned between 16th of January and 24th of October, 2015. It was applicable on direct, via and connecting domestic flights. As per chief commercial officer of the LCC, with the introduction of this sale scheme, they were targeting more number of fliers as such schemes encourage people to make plans in advance. The airline serves around 49 destinations, out of which 41 are Indian and 8 are international, with more than 300 flights every day. It is expected that SpiceJet flight booking may see an upsurge as a result of this new flat discount.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) recently revealed the second quarter result and IndiGo has managed to retain the first position with more than 31 per cent market share. The fleet size of around 79 aircraft includes technically advanced models, such as Airbus A320. It caters more than 35 destinations with over 510 flights every day. This low-cost carrier (LCC) is first choice of people while flight ticket booking because of top-notch services provided by it. As per studies, it is one of the most reliable carriers of the nation.
In terms of punctuality and reliability, it is considered the best among all the domestic carriers. IndiGo booking has seen an upsurge in recent years as it introduced lowest possible cost along with maintaining the quality of its services. The tremendous increase in the number of fliers with this LCC is not just because of the high-quality services, but because of its ability to schedule flights on time also. It has been named as one of the most reliable service providers in the Indian aviation industry as per research done by experts. The criterion involved the percentage of flights that were delayed, diverted, cancelled and on time.
Although, SpiceJet has surpassed this LCC in terms of seat occupancy and the number customers gained in the month of July. However, IndiGo still leads in qualitative aspects such as customer satisfaction. Reviews on social networking sites and travel portals are all positive with plenty of praises regarding the food quality and other amenities. The national airline – Air India – falls between SpiceJet and IndiGo, which means it is giving satisfactory services to passengers. However, there are several areas in which the flag carrier can improve the rating. There may be a situation where market equations may drastically change on arrival of new aircraft ordered by different LCCs.
The leading airline of the country – IndiGo is planning to launch a direct Delhi to Vizag flight. A third daily flight on the Hyderabad-Vizag route is also on the list to be started from 10th of October. This low-cost carrier (LCC) already operates more than 500 daily flights with a fleet size of almost 79 aircraft. It leased around 12 models from Tigerair to be delivered by March. Most of them are domestic flights operated on metro and non-metro routes. Started by two enthusiasts, it has grown into the largest carrier of the nation carrying more than 31 per cent passengers in India to their destination. Recently, the company has introduced fundamental changes in the shareholding structure in order to raise some more funds.
After approval from Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), the shares of one of the partners Rakesh Gangwal – a Non-Resident India (NRI) – has been converted into NRI holdings from foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Now, the airline can raise funds from a foreign enterprise up to 49 per cent. The inflow of resources can be used to make payments of some of the Airbus models to be delivered in 2016 and 2017. This InterGlobe Technologies-owned LCC is trying to deploy its newly received Airbus model by adding new routes to its options. Now, passengers can book a direct IndiGo flight from Delhi to Vizag. The carrier announced this launch after a meeting with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ministers. Air India, AirAsia, SpiceJet and GoAir officials were also present in the meeting to discuss other aspects of the industry. They discussed about fuel charges and came to a conclusion that there is scope of reducing sales tax on aviation turbine fuel by around a per cent. IndiGo president informed that booking for this new flight is open for prospective travellers.
