Low-Cost Airlines in India
Posted on May 20, 2008 in Travel by Prarthna
The concept of “budget-friendly aviation” originated from the west. Soon East Asian countries like India also picked pace. Low-cost airlines in India are a way to get cheap air fares in exchange for restricted passenger services otherwise available at normal fares although there are some domestic airlines which offer discounted fares with full on-board services as well.
Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines was a forerunner in Britain and Qantas in Australia. The wallet-friendly concept took off successfully after the World Trade Center attack which led to the downsizing of passenger seats that ultimately resulted in a great deal of losses incurred by the airline industries.
The “non-frillers” airlines (coming within the network of low-cost airlines) were characterized with few on-board services and facilities provided to passengers.
Air Deccan was first (2003) to hit the Indian skies as the first low-cost airline after which the Indian aviation industry witnessed a sudden spurt of low-cost airlines. Infact, the air fares listed by Air Deccan were so cheap to equal train fares too. For instance, the airline fares were reported to be about 30% less for the Delhi-Bangalore route than the airline fares projected by Jet Airways, Indian Airlines and Air Sahara for the same route.
Since then, Air Deccan was facing cut throat competition with other airlines like SpiceJet, GoAir, Jetlite, Sahara Airlines, Indian Airlines and Paramount Airways which were hastily slashing down air fares and introducing advance purchase schemes to defeat their competitor.
A year later after Air Deccan’s popularity and fame was overthrown with the entry of Vijay Mallya’s “Kingfisher Airlines” Indian no-friller. The industrial icon planned to launch as many as 16 Airbus A-320 fleets which required as much as 150 crores initially to kick start operations in 2005. After a year later, in 2006, Kingfisher Airlines changed its business model from low-cost to value-based airlines.
IndiGo Airlines also shot to fame with the same scheme of low-cost air fares when it placed the order for 100 Airbus A-320s worth 6 billion $US in the Paris Air Show.
Some airlines operating in the Indian domestic route which could be coming out with similar discounted carriers are listed here below:
- SpiceJet
- Air Deccan
- Kingfisher Airlines
- IndiGo Airlines
- Jagson Airlines
- Jet Airways
- Air Sahara
- Paramount Airways
- Indian Airlines
Low-cost airlines are also known as low-cost carriers, no-frills or discount carriers or airlines. Low-cost airlines do not guarantee the facilities provided whether in a business model or not. The fares are dynamic with tickets and discounts always in promotion. Sometimes, the cheap fares advertized may not include the extra charges and/or taxes. So look into the details before booking air fares in the Indian domestic routes.
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