With ‘fifth freedom’, Scoot offers India-Denmark for Rs12,000
04 Sep 2017
International air fares from India are set to get more competitive with the debut of Singapore Airlines' low-cost subsidiary Scoot, which will offer a one-way trip on Mumbai-Copenhagen route for between Rs12,000 and Rs13,000, including 20 kg check-in baggage and a meal.
The airline owns "fifth freedom" rights that allow it to operate direct flights between India and Europe.
"Since we have fifth freedom, we can operate direct flights from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata to destinations like Copenhagen, Vienna, Cairo and Manchester," Bharath Mahadevan, head of Scoot in India, told The Times of India.
"A return trip to Europe would cost around Rs26,000," said Mahadevan.
Indian low-cost carriers like SpiceJet and IndiGo are also likely to launch their first European long-haul flights to London-Gatwick, says the TOI report.
At present, no-halt flights to Europe cost around Rs45,000. Cheaper options available for transit flights with a stop in one of the Gulf countries.
With the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in July, economy class air travel became cheaper with a tax rate of 5 per cent against the previous 6 per cent. However, business class tickets became more expensive as the tax went up from 9 per cent to 12 per cent.
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