Fare gambit pays for IA

Indian Airlines has managed to increase its seat occupancy rate by 800 passengers a day by offering 'positioning flight fares' scheme, wherein it offered discounts of 40-70 per cent.

From April last year the state-run airline started offering discounts on certain routes connecting cities that act as international gateways for the airline.

For Indian Airlines, which has a capacity to fly 35,000 passengers every day, it had been an uphill task to fill up seats in certain circuits.

The airline has been averaging a load of just over 24,000 passengers a day. Its peak capacity this year was on June 6 when it flew 28,628 passengers.

Moreover, in its operations in category-III routes (to state capitals and small towns), it has been losing Rs 150 crore.

Today, the discounts offered under the 'positioning flight fares' scheme are as high as over 71 per cent (for Bangalore-Hyderabad route) and the minimum is at about 39 per cent (Chennai-Goa route).

However, most of the discounts are in the 60 per cent range. The discounted fares range from as low as Rs 750 (Kochi-Coimbatore) to as high as Rs 3,830 (Ahmedabad-Hyderabad). Again a significant number of these fares range between Rs 1,100 and Rs 1,500.

In real terms, a passenger can save anywhere between Rs 1,295 (on select Kozhikode-Kochi flights) and Rs 4,295 (on a Kochi-Mumbai flight).

The 'positioning flight fares' scheme is predominantly offered in the southern part as much of the airline's international flights are out to the Gulf, a destination that is more routed from the south.