AirAsia India on Friday said its maiden operation will be between Bangalore and Goa from June 12, and will cost Rs 990 including taxes.
The low-cost launch is likely to trigger a fare war. Such an indication has already come from SpiceJet, which on Thursday announced Rs 1,499 fare excluding tax, on Bangalore-Goa and Bangalore-Chennai routes.
Expectation was that AirAsia would start services from Bangalore to both Chennai and Goa.
Travel agents on Thursday said it had been indicated to them that both routes are likely to be open for AirAsia.
Sharat Dhall, president of travel portal Yatra.com said, “The airline has already created excitement among travellers by announcing attractive launch fares.
We expect AirAsia’s entry to catalyse growth in the domestic air market, which has been sluggish for the past couple of years, and are enthusiastically looking forward to the ripple effect their entry will create in the next few months.”
Collective goal
In Chennai, AirAsia India Chief Executive Officer Mittu Chandilya said, “Our collective goal is that every Indian should have an opportunity to fly. We have our plane parked here already.”
“June 12 would be the first flight. It will be A320 (aircraft). The timing of the flight will be around 3 pm from Bangalore to Goa, and then back from there (Goa) around 6 pm,” Chandilya said, adding that the airline is not looking at operating from Delhi and Mumbai for now.
“AirAsia will open bookings Friday evening. By 9.30 pm our fares will be up there on our website. We are very excited about that,” Chandilya was quoted by PTI as saying.