New Delhi, March 7: Picture this. A weekend stay in Mumbai at a five-star hotel, a sea cruise and a visit to a Bollywood movie studio thrown in. What more, a getaway at Chennai has a weekend all expenses-paid pilgrimage to Tirupati as the main attraction. And this free bonanza comes to you, courtesy Sahara Airlines.The Lucknow-based domestic airliner is hitting the market with a slew of packages this month to capture the summer-holiday market looming around the corner.
Aimed to capture air travellers with value add-ons, the packages will concentrate on metro traffic and cover Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Goa. Smaller cities such as Jaipur, Indore and Varanasi will be a part of a few select packages.
Sahara Airlines has already tied-up with Taj Hotels and the Ashok Group of Hotels to ensure free hotel stay for its passengers in most cities.
"At an extra cost of just 5-10 per cent above the price of a return ticket, we are offering free hotel stay, chauffer-driven car, sightseeing and even discounted consumer electronic items in our packages," said Sahara Airlines chief general manager Kapil Kaul.
To offer discounted consumer-electronic goods, Sahara is negotiating with consumer-good companies. The airline is expecting a 75 per cent load factor in the summer months and its packages are all set to fire the market. "The months ahead look very promising" said Kaul.
Free add-on services will help Sahara in capturing a greater share of the summer-holiday market, feels the airline top brass. Their in-house research supports this claim.
A package called the `Sahara Business Plan' launched on March 1 in all metros has attracted a few hundred reservations. A return ticket in this package includes a one-and-half days stay in a hotel, free breakfast, and a pick-up from the airport.
The other packages will be launched by end-March. Separate packages have been designed Sahara Airlines spices up summer packages with free add-onsto target weekend traffic at Mumbai and Chennai, holiday-makers from all metros headed for Goa and corporate travellers.
Sahara Airlines has, in the past, stirred up the domestic air-travel market by offering free hotel stays. However, this summer the packages will extend the free add-ons to new services.
The airline, which has increased its fleet to nine aircraft, including two new Boeing 737-800s and a Boeing 737-700, has now got an 11 per cent market share. It is targeting an ambitious 30 per cent rise in market share this summer.
Sahara Airlines, however, does not have any plans to reduce fares as it did last year.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.