This will, however, have an immediate impact on Indian Airlines (IA) which had earlier anounced fare cuts on these very routes. The domestic carrier is seized with competition from private airlines. Soon after Jet Airways' decision to operate a night flight (9.30 pm) on the Mumbai-Delhi and Delhi-Mumbai (10 pm) sector, Indian Airlines is expected to follow suit. IA is expected to soon announce its decision, which includes operating an additional flight or reducing the fare on the Mumbai-Delhi sector.

IA will be forced to counter Jet Airways' move of introducing an additional evening flight and also slash fares to Rs 3,300, which is below that of Indian Airlines' fareof Rs 3,600. Jet Airways' late evening flight will cut into Indian Airlines' business, as it operates a late night flight at 11 pm on the Mumbai-Delhi route.

The national carrier is also examining the impact on its revenue arising out of late-night competition. Though its night flights carry significant courier load, passenger turnaround can get affected if people have an option of another flight. If this happens, IA will have to take action to protect its market share, said airline sources.

The domestic fare war was started by Sahara Airlines early this year. The fare cut announced by Sahara was followed by Indian Airlines and Jet Airways. With the competition intensifying, the domestic carrier started offering freebies and package fares in collaboration with various hotels. However, according to Jet Airways, the launch of the late-evening flight is to lure passengers during the current lean season.

The fare war between domestic airline operators, however, has helped consumers. Air travellers are notonly getting the benefit of lower fares but also more options in terms of number of flights available to them.

However, according to Jet Airways, this kind of competition is not healthy for the industry. "It may be good for the consumers in a short term, but in long run it will make the industry sick, and there will again be a monopoly-like situation," said airline officials.

IA's stand on this issue, however, made clear recently, was that the airline will tackle the competition head-on. "IA will be proactive in reacting to competitive market forces," say the officials.

According to industry experts, with many players in the market, the price-cuts will continue. Jet Airways, however, maintains that it has no plans to change the fare structure on any other route in the near future. Such competition is obvious with privatisation, say experts. This is also important and good for the consumer, as it keeps an automatic check on the price. Competition forces players to provide better services at the mostcompetitive price, they add.

Earlier, the private carriers had criticised IA's move when it reduced the economy class fare on five destinations from Mumbai.