In a bid to spur the market and expedite bookings, Jet Airways (India) Ltd., country's fastest growing airline, slashed their ticket prices on Saturday by a larger part.

The airline has announced a 'seven day sales' on 700,000 seats, until August 9. The starting fare for all domestic flights is Rs. 1,777

The cutback in fares has been done across three different slabs — Rs.1,777 for short-distance flights like Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Rs.2,777 for medium-distance flights like Mumbai-Bangalore and Rs.3,777 for long distance flights like Mumbai-Delhi.

The discount can be availed on any tickets booked on or before 9 August. Taxes will be additional.

The time until mid-October is a lean season for airlines, when the bookings plummet. To salvage the situation, state-run Air India Ltd as well as Indigo has come up with a slew of promotion fares starting Rs.2,350 for advance bookings.

Regi Philip, who runs Cosmos Agencies, a Mumbai-based travel agency, said, “Airlines are struggling to get decent seat occupancy. Fares are astonishingly low. Jet Airways is trying to stimulate the market. Other carriers such as SpiceJet, IndiGo and Air India would be forced to do so. They are trying to fill in as many empty seats they can.”

“These specially discounted fares are aimed at the low season when demand is low and it helps people to get a cheaper fare. Especially with the long weekend coming up mid-August, this will generate more demand and stimulate the market,” Neelu Singh, chief operating officer at Ezeego One Travels and Tours Ltd that runs online travel website Ezeego1.com.

(AW: Suchorita Dutta)