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A-I prunes economy class fare to Dubai

BS Corporate Bureau

The discounts war in the aviation sector continues with Air-India announcing a cut in economy class fares to Dubai, the ongoing "peak travel season" notwithstanding.

The national carrier claims to be offering one-way travel to Dubai at Rs 5,600, which is comparable to fares on many domestic sectors.

According to travel industry sources, Emirates is also offering one-way travel at Rs 5,600. A similar trip on any other airline for the same route costs around Rs 6,500. Sources at Air-India said, "We are offering competitive rates to take full advantage of the peak season."

Keeping up with the rate cut mania, Indian Airlines, the largest domestic airline, has also reduced economy class fares between Bombay-Calcutta, Bombay-Madras and Bombay-Hyderabad. The new one-way rates on these three routes will be lower by Rs 300.

The new fares, which will be effective till December 31, are inclusive of all taxes and insurance surcharge. The Bombay-Calcutta, Bombay-Madras and Bombay-Hyderabad air fares will stand reduced to Rs 6,540, Rs 4,590 and Rs 3,825 respectively.

The ongoing discounts war is in sharp contrast with the industry trend, where discounts are normally slashed during the peak season. However, following the September 11 incidents and the damage done to the global aviation industry subsequently, passenger load factors have dropped drastically, forcing airlines to cut fares to encourage passengers to fly.

Air-India has already reduced US bound services by around 20 per cent, in addition to reducing the weekly flights to Singapore and discontinuing the London terminator service.

Indian Airlines, on the other hand, has stopped its Karachi service, in addition to rolling back or cutting down the frequency on many domestic routes.

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