Are they at it again? The Airlines vs. Railways strife in India

Today is the last day of Air India’s Monsoon Sale. India’s national carrier has offered fares starting from Rs. 1,777 for travel from July 1 to September 30, 2015 on its domestic network of 66 destinations.

“We’re looking forward to a significant hike in the ticket sales. The figures can only be out after the sale concludes”, the Air India Spokesperson said.

This comes to light of the huge estimated losses of the three full-service airlines – Jet Airways, Air India, and Tata Group’s newly-launched Vistara. A CAPA report pegged the figure at $1.28-1.31 billion, with Air India alone claiming a whopping $900-920 million.

“Price stimulation in the lean season is a reality of the Indian market. As long as the low fare promotions are targeted at the perishable inventory and doesn’t cannibalize into the revenues, it helps in capitalization", Kapil Kaul, CEO, CAPA India says.

One can’t deny India’s transportation sector has seen a significant overhaul in the past few weeks.

You can now get a 50% refund on Tatkal bookings, and GoAir and SpiceJet have partnered up with Railways to offer flight tickets to waitlisted train passengers with an incremental fee.

Does this signify a slow but conclusive ebbing of the supposed rivalry between flights and trains that many a “lower than train fares’ flash sales sparked? Most experts believe as long as the rail and airfare differences remains low, such schemes would be impactful.

(Image credit: Indiatimes)