Cheaper airfares are back, for now

Just when you thought rising fuel surcharges on airfares was beginning to pinch your pockets, there's some good news for air-travellers.

Faced with a lean season when occupancies drop 15 to 20 per cent, airlines are trying to lure fliers with cheaper fares. If you time your travel well (midweek, off-peak hours), you can still fly many sectors in the country for Rs 2525.

For instance, you can fly Mumbai-Delhi on January 16 (Tuesday) at that fare on budget carriers like GoAir, Spicejet or Simplifly Deccan if you don't mind reaching your destination at 12 pm, starting at 5 am, or taking a flight in the afternoon.

Even if you are taking a flight at peak hours (7 to 9 a m, and 5 to 7 p m), you could buy a seat for Rs 2700 to Rs 3,000 on some of these budget carriers, many of whom have been running promotional schemes to drive occupancies.

GoAir has been selling tickets for Rs 500, minus taxes, under a festive offer. Indigo, which offers a wider network, has come up with a similar promotional offer. Of course, these offers are available for a limited period on select routes.

Deccan has teamed up with SBI credit card holders can buy tickets for Rs 500 plus surcharges on most sectors serviced by Deccan, barring flights to Port Blair from Kolkata and Chennai.

Full-service airlines are still drawing up their strategy for the lean season, and you can expect more airlines to come up with cheaper fares.If you had planned your trip in advance, you could have availed of promotional fares from these airlines.

But you can get a Mumbai-Delhi ticket on a full service airlines like Jet Airways or Kingfisher Airlines for Rs 4152, inclusive of all taxes, if you are willing to travel during off-peak hours.

In January, Indian (now Air India) ran a promotional offer underwhich it sold seats for Rs 999 plus taxes, which meant you could fly for Rs 2911 across many sectors it operates. Last month, Jet sold promotional fares at Rs 500, minus taxes, for this lean season, and offered some special weekend fares.

Fares are low in sectors where there's signficant competition (Mumbai-Delhi, Mumbai-Chennai or Mumbai-Delhi). But fares continue to be high on sectors where there's less competition (Mumbai-Kolkata).

''Airlines drop fares to ensure they can maintain their occupancies,'' said Dhruv Shringi, CEO of travel portal yatra.com. ''The demand drops suddenly with the onset of lean season, from mid January to mid-March, during which airlines also see a drop in yields by 15 to 20 per cent,'' said the CEO of another travel portal.

Airfares had shot up during the last couple of months of high season. Typically, fares go up 30 to 40 per cent during peak travel season but airfares had shot up much more than that, doubling in many sectors in the last couple of months.

The rising surcharges can start discouraging budget-conscious travellers who have been patronising budget carriers. ''Increasing fuel surcharges will have a dampening impact on demand,'' said Jet Airways CEO Wolfgang Prock-schauer.