JET AIRWAYS SLASHES AIRFARE TO LONDON

MUMBAI: The exit of 'India's Richard Branson' vijay Mallya from the country's skies may have pushed domestic air travel rates soaring skywards, but the imminent entry of the real Branson and his Virgin airline on Mumbai -London route is triggering a crash landing of sorts in fares.

Jet Airways, the country's pre-eminent private carrier, has slashed fares on the Mumbai-London sector to less than 10,000 per person (excluding taxes), reviving memories of a price war that made fares on the South-east Asian routes from India one of the cheapest in the world.

The Naresh Goyal -promoted airline is offering 9,990 per passenger (round trip, excluding taxes) on Mumbai -London for 18 days beginning October 29, the day Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic resumes its India operations after a three-year break.

The fare is considerably cheaper than, say, that of British Airways, which charges 27,820 for a round trip between October 29 and November 5, excluding taxes, and Jet's full fare of 60,000. Including taxes, the BA fare will be 59,654 compared with Jet's 27,990. Aviation analysts say Jet plans to take on Branson's Virgin Atlantic head-on once it resumes Mumbai-London operations from October 29. "At Virgin, we pride ourselves in delivering a fantastic experience at competitive prices."

"We're happy that our arrival in Mumbai will offer passengers better choice and increase competition," said Stephen King, general manager, virgin Atlantic India. "We welcome competition," Jet Airways responded to an ET query. The Jet fare is only available for travel between October 29 and November 16.

Airfares from India to south-east Asia crashed a few years ago due to competition between domestic and international airlines, vying for a slice of the tourist traffic to Thailand , Singapore and Malaysia . It is now possible to fly to Bangkok from any Indian city for less than Rs 15,000, while the fares for Singapore and Malaysia are only slightly more expensive.

Mumbai -London fares are probably unlikely to become that cheap but Virgin's imminent entry and the rush of flyers expected in the busy season which begins in October and runs up to January has prompted major international airlines to up their offerings and dole out discounts.