Air travellers can look forward to a good time, with Jet Airways offering fares 15-18 per cent lower than its existing APEX scheme.

The new Super APEX fares, aimed at Rajdhani passengers, will come into effect from June 16. Bookings have to be made 30 days in advance.

On the Delhi-Chennai route, the Super APEX fare is Rs 3,600, around 14 per cent lower than a Rajdhani AC II ticket and 20 per cent lower than Jet's existing APEX fare. A Delhi-Kolkata flight will cost Rs 3,205, around 13 per cent lower than the APEX fare and marginally lower than the Rajdhani AC II fare.

The fare for the Delhi-Mumbai route has been set at Rs 3,400, around 18 per cent lower than the APEX fare and 56 per cent lower than the economy-class fares of the airline.

Jet's new fares are 56-68 per cent lower than the normal economy-class fares offered by the three domestic airlines. They are 15-20 per cent lower than the APEX fares offered by Indian Airlines. IA officials said the carrier might soon match Jet's offer.

With the introduction of the Super APEX fares, Jet has matched Air Sahara's revised APEX fare scheme. Sahara had fine-tuned its APEX scheme in April by setting fares that were 58-60 per cent lower than its economy-class fares. Like Jet's scheme, travellers have to book their tickets 30-45 days in advance.

The slugfest in the domestic airlines market started in August 2002, with the three airlines announcing 12-64 per cent reduction in fares. However, fares rose 15 per cent in March 2003 with the cost of aviation turbine fuel increasing by 12 per cent.