Air India Cheaper than train flight tickets explained
Air India is running a campaign claiming some of their flights are cheaper than train tickets.
The claim is that their flight fares are as low as Rs 990 and cheaper than train tickets. I had spotted it earlier but ignored it as it was for Air India subsidiary alliance air who only operate short haul flights.
Note: Above poster is bit old- says book by 8th July, but the offer is still on as per this Mint News report published 2nd August evening- so the topic is still relevant and prices should still be cheap as claimed in the ad. Though it was hard to find a reference to this offer on Air India's website under offers section.
I wasn't very keen on this offer as I would take overnight sleeper train for short distances, but I got a request on twitter to analyse and write about it. So I thought let me do a comparison and check.
Thus I checked a few destination fares to assess if they are really cheap. Below are some quick screen grabs:
Chennai-Coimbatore- INR 2000
Bikaner-Delhi: Rs 1400 - not bad
Shirdi- Mumbai: INR 1600
Bengaluru-Mysuru: INR 1600
Gwalior-Delhi: INR 2000
Gorakhpur-Delhi: 5500+
Below table compares above with train fares and time for above routes
* Air travel time= Flight time + 2 hours for airport formalities. For BLR additional 2 hours added to reach airport from city.
Prices taken from IRCTC for a random train and flight price from Air India website for a random date few months from now. Exact price may vary based on date, train name etc.
Takeaways from above analysis:
Overall, I don't find Air India's "cheaper than train" campaign true. Still, if you have a travel plan, no harm checking Air India fare- if it sounds reasonable you can book.
Do share your thoughts!
Similar: Air India flight from Mysuru to Goa, Cochi, Hyd * Air India Chennai-Port Blair 5200 rs * Air India overstaffed? * Air India loses every year what Kingfisher/Jet own over their lifetime *
The claim is that their flight fares are as low as Rs 990 and cheaper than train tickets. I had spotted it earlier but ignored it as it was for Air India subsidiary alliance air who only operate short haul flights.
I wasn't very keen on this offer as I would take overnight sleeper train for short distances, but I got a request on twitter to analyse and write about it. So I thought let me do a comparison and check.
@enidhi Sirr please search on Google--Air India's Alliance Air offers fares lower than train tickets.Looking for a blog from you on this offer.— SAMIR AHMAD (@samirahmad46) August 3, 2019
Thus I checked a few destination fares to assess if they are really cheap. Below are some quick screen grabs:
Chennai-Coimbatore- INR 2000
#
|
Origin-Destination
|
Distance
Kms
|
Alliance Air Fare
|
Air travel time*
|
Train tr time
|
Sleeper train fare
|
3rd AC fare
|
2nd AC fare
|
First AC
|
Remarks
|
1
|
Chennai-Coimbatore
|
520
|
1940
|
3 hours
|
7 hours
|
315
|
815
|
1150
|
1980
|
|
2
|
Delhi-Bikaner
|
470
|
1400
|
3 hours
|
8 hours
|
300
|
770
|
1080
|
1850
|
|
3
|
Mumbai-Shirdi
|
250
|
1600
|
3 hours
|
6 hours
|
250
|
630
|
880
|
||
4
|
Delhi-Gorakhpur
|
800
|
5500+
|
4 hours
|
12-13 hours
|
430
|
1140
|
1650
|
2750
|
|
5
|
Gwalior-Delhi
|
350
|
2000
|
3 hours
|
4 hours
|
240
|
600
|
850
|
1420
|
|
6
|
Bengaluru-Mysuru
|
150
|
1600
|
5 hours
|
2.5 hours
|
540
|
700
|
Prices taken from IRCTC for a random train and flight price from Air India website for a random date few months from now. Exact price may vary based on date, train name etc.
Takeaways from above analysis:
- The Air India's cheaper than train scheme is only for its Alliance Air subsidiary, which only operates super short haul flights between nearby cities. Offer is not valid for metros like Chennai-Delhi, Mumbai-Kolkata etc on Air India network.
- There's no beating sleeper class and 3rd AC fares. Lot cheaper than flight ticket any day.
- Air India's advertised Rs 990 ticket- not sure for which sector, but clearly that is not available for any of the sectors I tried.
- Most instances Air India fare was NOT cheaper than train ticket, even if 1st AC fare is considered. Only in some scenarios it is similar to 1st AC fare
- Do check Air India prices- for some routes the fare is very good- like Delhi -Bikaner as it saves lots of time.
- Note that an overnight train though takes more time, is often more productive- you can board the train and sleep, get up fresh and spend full day productively. A day time flight can take away half a day of your productivity.
- Flights are more prone to major delays. Trains are often on time or delay is very minor.
- Train journey is more freedom- no need to report 2 hours prior, can carry lot more luggage, food and other purchases are cheaper, offers more space to relax.
- Train stations are in heart of city- easy, quicker and cheaper to reach than airports in most cases
- Airlines sell only few seats at discounted fare, rest of the seats will cost more. While Railways will sell all seats at same price, excluding some Tatkal quota and concession quota.
Overall, I don't find Air India's "cheaper than train" campaign true. Still, if you have a travel plan, no harm checking Air India fare- if it sounds reasonable you can book.
Do share your thoughts!
Similar: Air India flight from Mysuru to Goa, Cochi, Hyd * Air India Chennai-Port Blair 5200 rs * Air India overstaffed? * Air India loses every year what Kingfisher/Jet own over their lifetime *
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