Jet Airways takes on Vistara, offers more free miles on similar routes

Jet announced triple its normal free miles under the JPMiles programme on biz class and double the base JPMiles on economy class till March 31.

By Anirban Chowdhury, ET Bureau | Updated: Feb 09, 2015, 07.26 AM IST

MUMBAI: Jet Airways continues to take on Vistara aggressively, now offering more privileges and benefits under its frequent flyer programme specifically on routes flown by the full-service carrier of Tatas and Singapore Airlines.

Jet Airways has announced triple its normal free miles under the JPMiles programme on business class and double the base JPMiles on economy class bookings for travel till March 31. The “promotion is applicable for travel between Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad Sectors only”, it said on its website.

Vistara, the third full-service airline in India after Air India and Jet Airways, started its operations on January 9 with flights from Delhi to Mumbai and Ahmedabad. It has faced stiff, though somewhat subtle, competition from incumbent players.

Low-cost flier, IndiGo, for instance, chose the Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector for its lowest fare of Rs 1,799 when it recently introduced discounted fares.

In fact, Vistara has had to slash fares by as much as half because of the undercutting. “The corporate travel market is very price-sensitive and with competing carriers reducing air fares, Vistara has been forced to match or reduce fares to gain market share,’’ said John Nair, business travel head at travel company Cox & Kings. “Carriers such as Indigo and Jet Airways have also reduced fares with new advance purchase schemes thereby making it difficult for new carriers to charge a premium,’’ he said.

According to Cox & Kings data, a Vistara flight on Mumbai-Ahmedabad for February 12 costs Rs 3,795 while Jet is at Rs 3,559. On Mumbai-Delhi for the same day, Vistara is charging Rs 5,704 on one of its flights while Air India is charging Rs 5,777.

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