New Delhi: Taking forward competition in airfares by targeting AC two-tier train passengers, Air Sahara on Monday (Jul 19, 2004) launched its "Surprise" scheme introducing the first advance purchase (APEX) return scheme and reducing the fares by almost 30 per cent.

As per the scheme introduced mainly on the metro sectors, a Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi APEX ticket would now cost Rs 4,444 and a Delhi-Kolkata-Delhi ticket Rs 5,555, compared with the earlier return APEX fare of Rs 6,900 on both sectors and the normal return fare of Rs 14,420 and Rs 16,530 respectively.

"The new round trip fares are specifically targeted at the Second Class AC passengers," Air Sahara president Rono J Dutta told reporters in New Delhi.

The tickets would have to be purchased at least 30 days in advance and the maximum period of stay at the destination would be 90 days. At least one Sunday stay at the destination was required under the new scheme, which is not valid for travel on Sundays, Dutta said.

The return APEX fares for Delhi-Hyderabad sector was Rs 5555, while that on the Delhi-Bangalore sector was Rs 6666, Delhi-Chennai Rs 6666, Mumbai-Kolkata Rs 6666, Kolkata-Bangalore Rs 6666 and Kolkata-Chennai Rs 6666.

Dutta and the airline's vice president Alok Srivastava said the airline was also planning to lease at least three more new generation Boeings and were in talks with leasing firms.

Asked about the proposal to re-introduce the withholding tax (WHT) on aircraft being leased by airlines from foreign companies, Dutta said he hoped the Government "will re-think its position" as it was going in the "wrong direction" since most of the airlines were in the process of leasing planes.