Air India Chennai Jaffna bookings open at 12k return

Air India subsidiary alliance air had done a test flight to Jaffna last month and there was news of regular service starting soon between two cities- read detailed analysis in this post.

However it was not clear from when the service would start or the fare. Now the details are out. Alliance Air Chennai-Jaffna service will be starting next week, 3 times a week. News tip off courtesy Kartik Kannan

But Air India's own website is not yet updated to support Jaffna's airport code. I was checking it once a while and drew a blank. You can't book the Jaffna flight on Air India website, yet. However, booking is open on OTAs such as MMT.

Sadly the Chennai-Jaffna ticket is priced much more than Chennai-Colombo. Chennai-Colombo return ticket can be had for INR 9000, so I was expecting Jaffna to be cheaper at under 6000, as it is shorter (less fuel), new airport (less tax n fees). But Air India has decided to keep the price 2x more than what I was expecting- most probably to take advantage of monopoly- no other airline is flying this sector yet. Because of this high price I don't have any motive to go there right away. Will wait and watch to see of price drops to a more rationale level.

Air India is advertising a one way fare of 4000 INR but return ticket will be a bit expensive due to higher taxes/airport fees in Srilanka I guess, taking total to more than 11k INR + Convenience fee. It might be wise to fly in to Jaffna, explore Srilanka and return via Colombo than having to come back to Jaffna.

What is your thought? Are you keen to fly to Jaffna?