The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked SpiceJet to withdraw its flight ticket special sale offer to boost ticket sales as it violates the terms set by the government to regulate fares. SpiceJet late on Monday said it has complied.
SpiceJet had announced a five-day “1 1 offer sale” where it was offering one-way base fares starting as low as ₹899, excluding taxes, on its domestic network. The release said the customers booking a ticket during the sale will get a complimentary voucher with a maximum value of ₹2,000 per booking, which can be used for future bookings. The five-day sale offer was launched on Monday and passengers could fly till 31 March next year on tickets brought under the scheme.
Pointing to the government-imposed fare limits, the aviation regulator has asked SpiceJet to stop the sale, senior officials of the regulator said Monday afternoon.
The Civil Aviation Ministry had on May 21 placed upper and lower limits on domestic airfares through seven bands, classified on the basis of flight duration, till August 24. Later, it was extended until November 24.
The aviation industry has been significantly impacted due to the travel restrictions imposed in India and abroad in view of the coronavirus pandemic. Airlines in India have taken cost-cutting measures such as pay cuts, leave-without-pay and firings of employees.
What Spicejet was offering in its 2020 sale:
As part of the sale, SpiceJet was offering one-way base fares starting Rs 899, excluding taxes, for travel on the airline’s vast network across India. Several routes such as Hyderabad–Belgaum, Belgaum – Hyderabad, Ahmedabad–Ajmer (Kishangarh), Ajmer (Kishangarh)-Ahmedabad were available under the Rs 899 sale.
Flyers booking a flight ticket under the sale would get a complimentary flight voucher with a maximum value of Rs 2,000 per booking. The voucher was to be used for future ticket bookings. The tickets were to be e-delivered to the customer within 48-hours of booking. These vouchers were to have a validity of the travel period until October 15, 2020. Flyers could also purchase add-on services like preferred seats, priority check-in, preferred boarding, and bag out service for just Rs 149. Flyers were provided with an option to upgrade to SpiceMax at a special price of Rs 499.
The sales fares were not applicable to group bookings and the offer could not be combined with any other offer. SpiceJet had said that flight fares vary from one route to another, as the travel distance and flight schedules and timings were subject to change. As per SpiceJet’s flight tickets refund policy, under this sale only statutory taxes were refundable. The free flight voucher could be redeemed only by the person in whose name the ticket was booked during the sale and applicable on bookings made on the SpiceJet website only. Vouchers were valid for a single transaction and could be redeemed 7-days in advance. These were non-refundable and could not be exchanged for cash, the airline had said. Flyers could book tickets on www.spicejet.com, on online travel portals, SpiceJet mobile app, through travel agents, SpiceJet Call Centre, and at the airport ticket offices.
Scheduled domestic passenger services resumed on May 25 after nearly two months of suspension to combat the coronavirus outbreak. Scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in India since March 23.
