JEDDAH, 2 March 2004 — Air-India yesterday announced it is reducing fares from Jeddah to Kerala, a month after a committee of some 50 Keralite community organizations threatened to boycott the airline if it did not meet their demands.
As of April 1, Air-India will offer reductions on flights to the south Indian state depending on the season and introduce an apex fare for early bookings.
The joint action committee of Keralite organizations had threatened to boycott Air-India and Indian Airlines unless they slashed their fares to Cochin, Trivandrum and Calicut.
But Air-India says it is reducing fares because of the withdrawal of tax on aviation fuel by the Kerala government and because it now flies nonstop to all destinations.
“The airline decided to pass on the benefit of the lesser cost of operation to passengers bound for Calicut, Cochin and Trivandrum,” S.M. Mazharullah, the airline’s Western Province manager, told a press conference. Savings will range from SR50 in the peak season to SR101 in the off-season.
The committee had said the two Indian carriers were charging a markup of SR400 per person and said they increased their fares to Kerala “at least four times a year.”
Keralites make up 70 percent of Indian expats in the Gulf, generating huge revenues for airlines on the sector.
The airline has also withdrawn penalties from SR100 to SR300 it imposed a year ago for canceling confirmed bookings, another demand of the expat organizations. “What we now do instead is to closely monitor departures of confirmed passengers,” Mazharullah said.
Air-India is also considering reducing children’s fares to 50 percent of the normal price, down from 67 percent, he added.
With the reduction, the fares minus taxes to Kerala will be SR1,278 (one way) and SR2,444 (return) in the off-season and SR1,444 (one-way) and SR2,667 (return) in the peak season.
If passengers book at least 21 days in advance, the return fare from Jeddah to Kerala will be SR2,333 in the off-season and SR2,617 in the peak season.
