Saturday 16 / November / 2024
Muscat: Airlines are slashing fares by as much as 50 per cent to tempt people to book a last minute holiday for Eid and beyond.
There’s only one catch for staycationers—you’ll have to book by midnight tonight.
Read here: Eid Al Adha holidays announced in Oman
The late announcement of Eid holidays has meant many residents have decided to spend Eid in Oman. Airlines looking to fill flights have cut fares by up to 50 per cent for 48 hours—in a bid to attract last minute bookings.
In some cases, that deadline runs out at 11:59 pm this evening.
Also read: Planning your Eid holiday? These discount flight tickets might help
Oman Air and Qatar Airways are offering huge discounts on last minute deals, and many other carriers are also offering cheap flights.
Qatar Airways is offering an exclusive online-only discount of up to 40 per cent on economy and premium class tickets to some of its most popular destinations.
“It is a limited time offer, where people have to book online by 11:59 pm this Wednesday (August 30) and they can travel by March 31, 2018,” an airline official said.
“We want everyone to travel so we have come up with special offers as there is demand. So rather than having empty seats on the flight, we want to give it to someone,” said Joe Rajadurai, country manager Oman, Qatar Airways.
Jet Airways, India’s full-service airline, is also offering discounted fares from Muscat to several destinations in India and beyond.
The offer is applicable to Jet Airways’ flights to popular leisure destinations, such as Singapore, Bangkok, Colombo, Kathmandu, Dhaka and Hong Kong.
Guests can enjoy a discount of 12 per cent, applicable on tickets booked online between August 29 and August 31, 2017 for travel during September 2 to May 31, 2018.
Oman Air is also offering a 50 per cent discount on the three-day sale starting from Monday. “The ticket sale started from August 28 will go on until August 30 and it is valid for outbound travel period from September 15 to May 31, 2018,” an airline official said.
Wasim Zaidi, general manager, Oman, Jet Airways, said, “This super sale provides an exciting opportunity for our guests to enjoy seamless connections to not just Bangkok, Singapore, Colombo and Hong Kong, but also to 44 locations within India.”
“This promotion continues to support Jet Airways’ ‘Think Home, Think Jet airways’ philosophy by offering attractive discounts to a range of destinations to guests travelling with us,” he said.
Air India Express has launched special a promotional sale from Oman to India (both from Muscat and Salalah). Tickets can be purchased from August 26 to August 31 for travel from September 4, 2017 until March 24, 2018.
The promotional fare of OMR30 is offered from Muscat to Kozhikode, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. “The special Fare of OMR40 is being offered from Muscat to Mangalore and Salalah to Kozhikode, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, excluding service charges,” a spokesman said.
Etihad Airways is also offering special prices to several destinations, including Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Manila, London and New York.
Dubai-based low cost airline flydubai is offering a buy one, get one 50 per cent off, in the economy and business class. “It’s time to get together with your favourite travel buddy and plan your next adventure with flydubai. Buy a one-way or return ticket from Oman in the economy or business class and get 50 per cent off one-way or return travel for your companion. Just book by midnight on Monday, September 4, 2017 and travel between October 1 and December 10, 2017,” the airline stated.
Travel agents admitted that there is not much demand for people travelling abroad this Eid Al Adha. “First the holiday announcement came very late and secondly it is just for five days. So the airlines are offering attractive deals,” Emdad Bachchu, managing director, Akash Jatra travel agency, said.
Admitting there has been a dent in the market for travel agents this week, S Bhuiyan, the general manager of New Star International Travel, said this is mostly because of the late announcement of the holidays.
“Besides that, a lot of Indian expats have come down from their annual holidays earlier this month when the schools re-opened, so they are not in the mood to travel again,” he said.
