Domestic aviation operators like Air India have joined the Diwali flight sale, offering airfare discounts for the festive season 2024. During this year's festivities, full-service airlines are also trying to offer competitive pricing to attract customers from their low-cost competitors.
News agency PTI reported, citing an analysis by travel portal Ixigo on Sunday, that the average airfares on multiple domestic routes have declined nearly 20 to 25 per cent in this Diwali season compared to last year.
Rising capacity for airlines and the recent dip in oil prices are being attributed to the drop in airfare this festive season, as per the agency report.
The full-service operator Air India is offering special airfares for travellers to embark on and plan their festive season. According to the company website, one-way flight tickets to and from Singapore will start at ₹7,445, effective booking between October 8 and 14.
The offer does not limit travellers to travel between the booking period. Air India has opened an offer to cover the Diwali festival, so travellers can book tickets for travel between October 8 and November 30 under this offer.
The airline also offers deals for international passengers travelling to and from Singapore. Now, they can get tickets for as low as S$500 (nearly ₹32,231). This offer is effective for booking until October 14 and is valid for travel until March 20, 2025.
Air India is offering travel deals to Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Flyers can book their tickets for as low as ₹32,611 till November 17 for a travel period till March 20, 2025. Travellers are eligible for 10 per cent off in business class and 5 per cent off in economy class flying from Delhi or Mumbai airports.
Air India is also offering an instant discount of ₹200 per passenger on one-way domestic flights, valid till November 30, as per the website.
Other offers from the airlines during this festive season are Instant savings on EMI payments, savings with Net Banking, and instant savings on UPI payments, apart from regular bank-affiliated offers, according to the company's website.
As of publishing this article, Vistara's website did not have any visible offers; however, due to the Air India-Vistara merger, the airline will stop operating in November.
“Starting 3 September 2024, ticket sales for selected routes will gradually transition from Vistara to Air India. If your desired route has been transferred to Air India, you will be redirected from Vistara to Air India to continue with your booking,” according to the Air India website.
Indigo offered deals until September 30 for flights starting as low as ₹1,111. According to the website, Indigo has not yet announced any other prominent offer for the Diwali festival.
The standard offer on the website states that travellers will get up to 10 per cent off on direct bookings from the Indigo website and mobile application. Apart from the direct bookings offer, the low-cost airline is offering other bank-affiliated offers, along with cashback offers, according to the company's website.
International airlines like Qatar Airways have also offered 25 per cent off on Business class travel and 20 per cent off on economy class travel to celebrate this Diwali with festive fares, according to the company's website.
