BackAir India to allow free flights to companions on Diwali
The companion will have to pay taxes, says Air India
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New Delhi: Air India will allow companions to fly free this Diwali, the airline said on Thursday.
Under its “Deepavali Day Special Scheme" passengers who book a ticket on Air India’s domestic network will be able to take one companion along, paying the basic fare for just one person. The companion will, however, have to pay taxes, the airline said.
Ticket booking under the scheme, which started on Thursday, will be on till the Diwali festival, which falls on 30 October.
Tickets can be booked through the airline’s city offices.
Air India, with a fleet of 135 aircraft, connects 103 cities domestically and abroad.
It controls nearly 15% of the domestic market.
Indian airlines will operate 21% more flights in the winter season that starts at the end of this month, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said.
There will be 16,600 departures a week in the winter season schedule effective 30 October, compared with 13,744 at the same time last year.
Domestic air traffic in India has been growing at a pace of more than 10% annually for the past two years.
All airlines are wooing passengers with various schemes to fill more plane seats.
SpiceJet ran its flights 93.5% full in September followed by GoAir (89.4%), AirAsia India (82.8%), IndiGo (82.1%), Jet Airways (77.5%), Air India (79%) and Vistara (72.7%).
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