Railway passengers head for airport

The slashing of airfares by a few low-cost airlines could possibly triggering a price-war in the coming days. The move is already making railway passengers opt for flights.

This massive shift by rail passengers towards air travel has also been triggered by the declaration of increase in rail fares which was made recently by the railway ministry in order to bridge its deficit of Rs25,000 crore.

“The development in the last few days has suddenly brought a fresh change in the airline industry. A sudden rush to book flight tickets could be seen in the otherwise dull period, which usually follows after the new year,” says Iqbal Mulla, president of the Travel Agents Association of India.

As per the data available with travel industry insiders, Spicejet is charging Rs2,013 for travelling between February 1 and April 30 on the Mumbai-Delhi route instead of the usual average fare of Rs6,000 for the same period. As per the new rail fare, Rajdhani Express on the same route will cost Rs3,555 for AC-I and Rs2,106 for AC-II.

Similarly, Spicejet fare for the Delhi-Goa route is the same -- Rs2,013. However, with the revised rail fare, Rajdhani Express is expected to cost Rs 5,275 and Rs 3,080 for AC-I and AC-II respectively.

“With other airlines following Spicejet to keep up in the competition, the railways’ business is bound to be affected,” said Suresh Naik of Naik Tours and Travels from Mira Road. Indigo, another low-cost airline, is believed to have started offering airfares at Rs2,000 on select routes.