Host of Domestic Flight Offers in 2014

Fliers who have travelled domestic in the year 2014 have enjoyed a series of domestic flight offers right from the beginning of the calendar. It has been raining discounts right from the go. Most of the regional carriers, be it full fledged ones or low-cost carriers (LCCs), all have joined the party and lucrative discounts. SpiceJet, one of the popular have led the pack in starting enticing opportunities for fliers. These have been quite a hit as witnessed from the upsurge in booking of tickets. Most of these discounted airfare have been flash sales of tickets that have lasted only for a few days.

Reason for Discounted Flight Fares

There have been quite some debate about the fact as to why the airlines were providing such offers. Travel experts have opined that a number of factors contributed to this step from the Indian aviation giants. There had been no such discounts in the last financial year, rather there was a stark hike in the price of air tickets. This had contributed to the fall in passenger flow in Indian aviation. All regional carriers apart from IndiGo and GoAir had been posting a loss. As a result, there was a host of IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir offers right from the start of the calendar.

Despite the best efforts of all the airlines, the net revenue of most of them failed to come back to profiting ways. Travellers made the most utilisation of SpiceJet and IndiGo offers, as found out from their flight bookings. Apart from this factor, the fact that foreign carriers like Singapore Airlines and AirAsia are making a foray in Indian aviation is an added reason. The Indian names would like to have a strong niche population so that they can compete the foreign heavyweights in the best possible way.

Indigo Online Booking and its Future

IndiGo is the most popular and favoured airline that operates in the Indian market. Operating on the low-cost model, it is also the leading airline in domestic aviation in terms of market share with a net profit of over 785 crore INR in the financial year of 2013. Apart from these aspects, it is also among the fastest growing low-cost carriers in the world. Several discounts are offered by this carrier from time to time to boost the sales of its flight ticket. It operates with a fleet of over 75 Airbus A320 aircraft and looks forward to hike its fleet size in the next couple of years.

Low-cost Model

This LCC, just like most other common names operating on this model, charge separately for meal service. It has no loyalty program, which is another typical feature of LCCs. Concentrating only on cheap ticket rates, punctual services and premium connectivity, Indigo online booking has been increasing in the last five years or so. This has led its path to make it the only airline in the country to post a profit five years in succession. Riding high on its success, this LCC has maintained a steady growth and looks forward to increase the number of its destinations in the near future.

Possibility of Tie-up with Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways, the flag carrier of Qatar, is looking forward to explore and enhance its market in India. It is looking to go for a tie-up with IndiGo, so that it is able to widen its global network. However, there are speculations whether this agreement is possible or not. There have been instances where LCCs and full-fledged carriers have had a tie-up. Only time will tell whether there would any such bonding between the two carriers and its effect on aviation.

IndiGo Announces Six New Flights on Domestic Routes

Travellers who prefer flying with IndiGo, the largest airline of India in terms of market shares, to domestic destinations have something to cheer about. The airline has been working on its network expansion agenda in the current fiscal and it had announced an addition of eight new flights recently from March 15. IndiGo has introduced yet another new batch of fresh operations, some of which have already commenced operations from 30th March, 2014 while the rest will be effective in the first week of April. This low-cost carrier is known for offering cheapest domestic flights and low international airfare. It operates with a fleet of over 75 Airbus A320 aircraft and seeks to deliver frequent connectivity and offer easy accessibility by introducing new flights on a regular basis.

Frequent Domestic Connectivity

IndiGo airline will operate these services from major cities, including Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Ranchi and Vizag. It has started operations between Ranchi and Bangalore via Kolkata. The first non-stop flight between Ranchi and Kolkata has been launched since 30th March. It will commence its eighth daily non-stop flight between Delhi and Bangalore, and fifth daily flight between Bangalore and Kolkata from 6th April, 2014. Experts believe that this addition will consolidate the position of the carrier in the domestic aviation sector further.

The carrier is thriving to offer better services to fliers and it has taken significant steps to attract more fliers to take its aircraft for their journeys. Measures like attractive discounts on air tickets and regular addition of new flights have made the carrier even more popular. With international carriers like Singapore Airlines and AirAsia gearing up to enter the Indian aviation, it is predictable that the competition will grow manifolds. According to market studies, being the largest name in the nation, IndiGo is preparing itself well for stiff competition. It is high time that other regional airlines start taking significant measures to retain their positions as well.