The air fare war over the Gujarat skies seems to be intensifying as Jet Airways and Air Sahara are likely to slash fares after Indian Airlines announced lowered fares to key destinations in the state from Mumbai.

The entry of Air Deccan into the Gujarat sector on April 28 triggered the fare war. The airline has been offering the lowest fares between several destinations in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Industry sources said Jet Airways and Air Sahara may also lower fares.

"After Air Deccan commenced its flights between Maharashtra and Gujarat, we have been losing passengers to them. So from Wednesday, we have introduced a common promotional fare of Rs 2,000 in the Gujarat sector," said Bharat Tikle, area marketing manager of Indian Airlines, Ahmedabad.

"The fare will be applicable for economy class in flights from Mumbai to Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar and Rajkot. Initially, this scheme is for passengers who book tickets till September 30. They can travel up to October 31," Tikle said.

Before this offer, Indian Airlines' Mumbai-Vadodara fare was Rs 2,830, Mumbai-Bhavnagar Rs 2,725 and Mumbai-Rajkot Rs 3,130.

Indian Airlines' IC 613 and IC 604 flights between Mumbai and Ahmedabad will also charge only Rs 2,000 during the offer period.

However, two other flights operated by Indian Airlines between Ahmedabad and Mumbai will charge the existing fare of Rs 3,950, Tikle said.

Air Deccan, which operates a flight between Ahmedabad and Mumbai, charges Rs 2,200. Air Deccan will launch its Mumbai-Vadodara flight and the fare will be Rs 1,900. Jet and Air Sahara at present charge Rs 3,154 between these destinations.

Air Deccan's fare in the Mumbai-Bhavnagar sector will be Rs 1,800 against Rs 3,185 charged by the other airlines. "We have decided to slash fares in all these sectors as a pre-emptive measure. We expect the private airlines to join the fare war soon," Tikle said.

"We fly the industry-best Airbus-320 aircraft in most of these sectors against smaller ATR aircraft operated by Air Deccan. However, we had to cut fares to survive competition," Tikle said.

A source in Air Sahara, said, "With Indian Airlines cutting fares, we are also working on some plans for our passengers flying between Gujarat and Maharashtra. We will announce our schemes soon."

Air Sahara officials did not divulge any further details. At present, Air Sahara charges Rs 3,450 for a one-way economy class ticket to Mumbai from Ahmedabad.

A source close to Jet Airways said, "With Air Deccan commencing services in Gujarat, we are definitely concerned. We will offer more value-added services. We also operate world standard aircraft with the best on-board cuisine. We will consider a fare cut only after looking at our rivals' plans.