Air Asia Sparked A Price War. The Airline Sector Is Heating Up.

We still remember, a decade ago return flights from Delhi to Mumbai were available for less than Rs 4,000 on budget carriers such as indigo (these are now three times the amount). The budget carriers were really good options as they were super cheap when compared to Kingfisher, Jet Airways, Sahara and Air India. However, the segregation between a budget airline and a luxury one became thinner and thinner as the years passed by.

Another reason why the budget players flourished hard is because the upper class of airlines (such as Sahara and Kingfisher) either shut down or got acquired by someone else. This enabled the budget airlines to expand further and in the process increase prices as other airlines were biting the dust. Fuels costs are also a problem and the direct impact was and is being borne by the consumers. But, things are changing rapidly. More international players such as Air Asia have stepped onto the Indian turf to begin a fresh round of price wars.

Air Asia has started operation in 5-6 cities in India including Goa, Bangalore and Chennai. And the prices they are offering are quite low. In many cases cheaper than the closest Indian budget airlines. This has forced the others to follow suite and lower their respective prices as well. For the consumers it is a victory as the charges have been increasing at a steady pace.

This will make air travel a little better. Many reports suggest, Indian budget airlines will try to woo the customers with cheaper airfares and perks such as extra baggage allowance. The industry and carriers do deny these reports. Air specialists and check-in experts on the other hand do say, one cannot refute that these things have happened in the past and can possibly happen again. Priority check-in and preferential seating for regular travellers can also come to light.

After Air Asia, budget airlines such as Tiger Airways and few gulf carriers are also looking at India as a lucrative market to expand business. Moreover, getting a ticket on trains is becoming harder by the day, flights become an easy way to travel. With increasing demand the south-east Asian and Gulf air operators can easily eat in to the swelling pie.

The challenge and way ahead for Indian players is seeming slightly tough. They need to wake up and smell the reality. They are not alone anymore and with relaxed norms in India for multi-nationals they can lose a lot of business if they are not ready.