Indian airlines cut prices for last minute bookings to fight competition, says report

Contrary to the traditional fare system, the Indian airlines are now reducing prices of tickets even as the booking window narrows, reported The Economic Times. citing industry experts and airline executives.

Usually, as the travel time nears, the prices rise with airlines attempting to make maximum profit out of the last minute desperation. However, the airlines are now choosing to reduce the prices due to competition on the main routes, said the ET report.

“We have already seen an up to 8% year-on-year decline in fares when tickets are booked about 22-28 days before the travel date, compared to a 6% increase when they were booked a couple of months back for the same date of travel,” Balu Ramachandra, head of the airline business at Cleartrip.com, was quoted as saying in the report.

“While fares are definitely higher than the abject lows of October, they are still up to 15% lower on several sectors when compared to last year,” a top executive at a low-fare carrier was quoted in the report.

While this is a good news for air passengers, it could affect airlines' profitability, that is already under pressure.