India's fourth-largest carrier, SpiceJet is offering 10 lakh tickets for ₹999 until 10 July, valid for travel in various domestic routes between 6 January and 24 October 2015.
"Competition has intensified in the air market with the entry of new players, and this sale announcement by SpiceJet targets shoring up bookings in advance, so as to sustain their market share in the face of increased competition that is likely going forward", The Times Of India quoted Yatra.com president Sharat Dhall.
This is the third sale since June that the airline is implementing to gain market share and meet working capital requirements. Airline brands have been competing with each other during the peak travel season, following which SpiceJet offered tickets for ₹1,999 for a trip between Delhi and Goa, whose spot-fare generally is ₹ 11,253.
The airline posted a loss of ₹ 1,003.24 crore in FY 2013-14, which is five times higher that ₹191.07 crore incurred a year ago.
While the airline business models are going through losses, they are still introducing new offers to gain market shares. Consultancy firm, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), states that the combined losses of Indian carriers would reach $ 1.4 billion in the current fiscal, and the structural viability of airline business models would come under pressure because costs are expected to increase.
Except market leader IndiGo, all other carriers in the six-player market posted losses due to higher fuel cost and weak local currency, reported Reuters.
According to a Mint report, IndiGo and GoAir, which are the rival airlines, are expected to offer similar fares to match SpiceJet's promotional offer.
The low fare airline, controlled by billionaire Kalanithi Maran's Sun Group, operates more than 330 daily flights to 48 destinations, which includes 41 Indian cities and 7 international destinations.
Meanwhile, now that the rail fares have been hiked by 14.2 percent, air travel is turning out to be much more reasonable.
"With airfares cheaper than railway fares, we expect travellers to upgrade the transport-leg of their holiday to flight instead of rail or road," Rajesh Magow, co-founder and chief executive of travel portal MakeMyTrip noted.
