Air India to offer last minute Rajdhani AC II fares on 7 more routes

New Delhi: Air India will offer last minute ticket prices equivalent to AC II tier fares of Rajdhani trains on seven additional routes including from the national capital to Ahmedabad, Goa and Hyderabad.

These ticket prices, as low as Rs 2,240, would be available within four hours of the scheduled departure of the flights.

The carrier is already offering these fares on four routes and with the new additions, the total number of such sectors would increase to 11.

In a release today, Air India said it has decided to add seven more routes for the reduced rates "on account of popular response and with an aim to enhance growth".

The routes are Delhi-Ranchi-Delhi, Delhi-Ahmedabad-Delhi, Delhi-Hyderabad-Delhi, Delhi-Bhubaneshwar-Delhi, Delhi-Goa- Delhi, Delhi-Patna-Delhi and Delhi-Raipur-Delhi.

Fares on these routes would be "Delhi-Ranchi Rs 2,770, Delhi-Ahmedabad Rs 2,270, Delhi-Hyderabad Rs 3,275, Delhi- Bhubaneshwar Rs 3,475, Delhi-Goa Rs 3,665, Delhi-Patna Rs 2,315 and Delhi-Raipur Rs 2,240 respectively," Air India said.

It is already available on four trunk routes -- Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi, Delhi-Kolkata-Delhi, Delhi-Bengaluru-Delhi and Delhi-Chennai-Delhi.

"These fares would be available for sale within four hours of the scheduled departure of the flights... By introducing these fares we are not only able to generate additional revenue but also able to fill each and every seat till last minute," the release said.

The 'Spot Fares' scheme -- where ticket price equivalent to Rajdhani Express AC I fares are also available -- is from June 27 to September 30.

It is available for more than 100 flights across the country.

Air India's move might pose challenges for private carriers, which are alleged to charging exorbitant fares for last minute bookings.

On Sunday, Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani said the move to offer tickets at the price of Rajdhani AC II fares was aimed at providing relief to the passengers from last minute sky-rocketing fares and also to fill the vacant seats.

The carrier has an average load factor of 74 percent across its domestic network while the seat occupancy on these trunk routes stands at around 80 percent, he had said.