Air India and Indian Airlines yesterday announced they will cut fares by at least five per cent on the lucrative Gulf to Kerala routes and introduced discounts on advance ticket purchase.

The move follows pressure from the Gulf-based non-resident Indian community and becomes effective from April 1.

But officials from the carriers insisted their actions were prompted by the Kerala government's recent decision to axe sales tax on aviation fuel.

"Following the Kerala government's recent decision to withdraw the sales tax on aviation turbine fuel, we have decided to pass on the entire benefit to the passengers," said Captain P.P. Singh, Air India's regional director for the Gulf, Middle East and Africa.

"We have reduced the fare to Dh2,280 during the peak season, from Dh2,400. However, a passenger can get the same ticket for Dh1,995 if he buys it 21 days in advance - a discount of 17 per cent.

"The return fare from Dubai to Kerala will now be Dh1,520 for lean, Dh1,900 for shoulder and Dh2280 for peak seasons compared with Dh1,600 for lean, Dh2,000 for shoulder and Dh2,400 for peak seasons in the past financial year."

These prices exclude commission and taxes.

Air India, which operates 123 weekly flights from the Gulf, last year carried a total of 627,969 passengers from the Gulf to India, of which 280,000 were from the UAE. About 45 per cent of Air India's Gulf passengers are from Kerala.

Of the 280,000 passengers it carried from the UAE last year the carrier said 132,000 travelled to Kerala.

It netted Dh1.02 billion (Rs12.3 billion) from its Gulf operations in the period and is scheduled to begin flights to Salalah from Calicut, its 11th destination in the Gulf, from March 28.

Fares from Jeddah to Kerala have also been slashed by 18 per cent on advance purchase of tickets.