India Tests ‘One Route, One Fare’ Fixed Airfare Plan

India’s new “One Route, One Fare” (Fare Se Fursat) pilot fixes airfares on selected Alliance Air domestic routes till Dec 2025 — a bold move to tame fare volatility, enhance transparency, and drive regional connectivity under UDAN.

No More Wild Fare Swings: India Tests ‘One Route, One Fare’

In a bold shift from traditional airline pricing, India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has launched a pilot program with Alliance Air that guarantees a fixed fare per route, regardless of when the ticket is booked. This program, titled “Fare Se Fursat”, runs from October 13 to December 31, 2025, on selected flights.

By eliminating dynamic fare fluctuations, the initiative hopes to reduce booking anxiety, especially for corporate and agency clients who manage travel at scale.

What the ‘One Route, One Fare’ Scheme Entails

1. A single fare, fixed across booking windows

Under this model, the fare for a route remains constant whether booked weeks in advance or just hours before departure — even on the day of travel.

2. Pilot period & route selection

The scheme is being tested for a limited period (October to December 2025) across a set of select regional routes.

Some of the routes likely included are Delhi–Shimla, Kolkata–Guwahati, Hyderabad–Tirupati, and Bhubaneswar–Rourkela — largely regional / tier-2 and tier-3 city pairings.

3. Alignment with UDAN and public service goals

This initiative dovetails with India’s UDAN (Regional Connectivity Scheme) vision — making air travel more accessible and affordable, especially for smaller cities. 

Minister Rammohan Naidu emphasized that the static fare approach addresses a key passenger grievance: unpredictable last-minute fare hikes. 

Additionally, to further human-centric aviation, the ministry has rolled out UDAN Yatri Cafes at airports, with tea for ₹10, coffee for ₹20, and snacks for ₹20 — part of efforts to make travel more dignified and accessible

Why This Matters for B2B Travel Agents & Corporate Planners

Predictability in cost forecasting

With fixed fares, agencies and corporates can better plan travel budgets without worrying about sudden fare spikes or uphill negotiations for last-minute bookings.

Simplified quoting & margins

Pricing models become more transparent. Travel sellers won’t need to factor in fare volatility or “booking-timing risk,” making margin calculations simpler.

Competitive positioning

Agencies can market this certainty as a value-add to clients, especially to SMEs or corporate travellers in smaller cities who are sensitive to cost fluctuations.

Monitoring feasibility and scalability

Because this is a pilot, its success (or failure) will influence whether fixed-fare models might be scaled to more routes or broader airline operations. Agents will want to keep a pulse on announcements to adapt strategies early.

Challenges & Risks to Watch

• Revenue dilution risk: Airlines may lose out when demand surges (e.g., festivals) if fares are capped.

• Route mix & selection sensitivity: Fixed fare may work on low-competition or regional routes but not on highly competitive trunk routes.

• Operational costs & viability: Fuel, crew, airport charges fluctuate; locking fares might compress margins if costs spike.

• Behavioral response: Passengers may delay bookings or behave differently, altering load patterns in unexpected ways.
  
  

Conclusion & What to Monitor

The “One Route, One Fare” experiment is a bold attempt to tame the unpredictability of airline pricing — especially in the domestic regional space. For B2B travel professionals, it offers an opportunity to simplify pricing models, strengthen client trust, and gain competitive marketing leverage. But scalability will depend heavily on outcomes from the pilot, cost metrics, load factors, and stakeholder cooperation.

What you should track over the coming months:

• Route coverage and additions to the pilot

• Load factor / seat-utilization shifts

• Margin impact on Alliance Air

• Extension or expansion decisions

• Feedback from corporate & agency clients

If this pilot succeeds, we may well see a transformation in how domestic airlines price — from dynamic volatility to route-based stability.

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