The catch behind the discounts of Independence Day sales of airlines

Airlines such as Air India and SpiceJet have launched their sales with Independence Day just around the corner. This includes hefty discounts to customers.

SpiceJet's Great Independence Day sale went live on Tuesday and will go on till August 11 midnight. The company is offering domestic tickets with base fare starting at Rs 399 and international base fares starting at Rs 2,999. The discounts are available for travel between August 18 and September 30, 2016.

Some of the routes on which the airline is offering these discounts include Ahmedabad-Mumbai, Amritsar-Srinagar, Bengaluru – Chennai, Bengaluru – Kochi, Coimbatore – Hyderabad, Jammu – Srinagar, Mumbai – Goa and Mumbai – Hyderabad.

The Air India Independence Day sale on the other hand is only available for the Indian Armed Forces personnel, which includes the Army, Navy and Air Force. The special fares were made available on August 5 and will go up to August 15.

However, the catch here is that it is for travel effective August 15th only, Air India's website said.

Similarly, there is a catch in the SpiceJet offer too. The airline in its terms and conditions says that these fares are refundable, but further mentions that only statutory taxes will be refunded in a bracket.

Take the Mumbai to Goa SpiceJet ticket for instance during the Independence Day sale period costs Rs 2,087. The refund of the statutory taxes would mean that you would only get back Rs 84, which is the Government Service Tax of Rs 81 and Krishi Kalyan Cess of Rs 3.

Price Summary - Thu 08 Sep, 2016 BOM to GOI SpiceJet
[ Indian Rupee ( INR) ]

Flight SG  612
11:00 PM to 12:15 AM (+1 day(s))
Price Summary
1  Adult (Hand Baggage Only Fare):            1,150.00

CUTE Fee:                                                    50.00
Airline Fuel Surcharge:                                  200.00
Passenger Service Fee:                                150.00
User Development Fee – Departure (UDF):      453.00
Government Service Tax:                                81.00
Krishi Kalyan Cess:                                          3.00

BOM - GOI Price :                                      2,087.00