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Air India has launched a new, cheaper fare option for domestic flyers willing to skip a few extras to save money. The airline introduced the "Basic" fare on Tuesday for select routes within India, giving budget-conscious passengers a lighter, more affordable way to book a ticket.

The fare is being tested as a pilot project and is available only in Economy Class for now. It is aimed squarely at travellers who care more about the price tag than the perks, and who do not mind giving up certain bundled benefits to pay less.

So what do passengers actually get? Under the Basic fare, flyers can carry 15 kg of checked baggage and 7 kg of cabin baggage. Tea and coffee are served free on board, but a full meal is not part of the deal unless travellers choose to pay extra for it, reported Business Standard.

What's Included, And What Isn't

Passengers who want a meal can still have one. They can pre-book it up to 24 hours before departure for an additional fee, with choices including vegetarian, non-vegetarian, Jain and diabetic meals. This means flyers are not locked out of food altogether; they simply have to opt in and pay separately if they want it.

Air India has also built in a safeguard for travellers who do pay for a meal in advance. If a flight is rescheduled or a passenger is shifted to another flight, the pre-booked meal moves with them automatically. If, for some reason, the same meal cannot be arranged on the new flight, the airline will refund the amount paid for it in full.

Part Of A Wider Fare Strategy

The Basic fare is not a one-off change. It builds on a system Air India set up in 2024, when it introduced three fare types: Value, Classic and Flex. Those tiers were designed to give passengers more choice, with each one offering progressively more perks, including complimentary meals, at a higher price.

The airline was quick to stress that Basic is simply an added option, not a replacement for the existing structure. "The Basic fare is entirely optional, and travellers continue to have the choice of booking across Air India's existing fare families, Value, Classic, and Flex, each of which includes complimentary meals and a range of bundled benefits at progressively higher price points," the airline said in a statement. It added that the new fare "simply adds another layer of choice, particularly for price-conscious travellers who prefer a more unbundled offering."

In effect, Air India now has four fare families on its domestic network: Basic, Value, Classic and Flex. The airline says this range is meant to match the different ways people like to travel, letting each passenger pick a fare that suits their own needs and budget rather than paying for services they may never use.

Why Are Airlines Doing This?

The idea of stripping fares down to the basics is not new in aviation. Airlines around the world have been moving towards what is known as "unbundling," where passengers pay only for what they actually use rather than for a fixed package of services. A no-frills fare lets an airline advertise a lower starting price, while still giving travellers the option to add meals, extra baggage or other services if they want them.

Rival airline IndiGo already runs a similar three-tier system, which shows how widespread this approach has become. It's Saver fare, for instance, comes with a 7 kg cabin baggage allowance and 15 kg of check-in baggage, along with standard change and cancellation charges, but does not include a meal. The mid-tier Flexi Plus fare adds a complimentary meal and a standard seat choice, along with lighter change and cancellation charges.

At the top, the IndiGo UpFront fare offers a larger 20 kg check-in baggage allowance, a complimentary meal, seats in the front two rows of the cabin, and lower cancellation charges, with no change fee if the booking is altered more than 72 hours before departure. All three IndiGo fares also let passengers earn BluChips, the airline's loyalty points, with the amount rising at each fare level.

For now, the Basic fare can only be booked through Air India's own channels. These include the airline's website, its mobile app, its contact centre and ticketing counters at airports. It is not yet being offered through travel agents or third-party booking platforms. Air India said it would watch how customers respond to the new fare during this trial period before deciding whether to expand it further.

What It Means For Everyday Flyers

For passengers who travel light and rarely eat on short flights, the Basic fare could work out as a genuinely cheaper way to fly. If a meal and extra baggage allowance were never going to be used anyway, there is little reason to pay for them.

That said, the calculation is not always so simple. Travellers will need to check baggage limits carefully and factor in any extra charges before assuming the Basic fare is the better deal. In some cases, paying a little more for the Value fare, which already includes a meal and other benefits, could end up costing less overall than choosing Basic and then paying separately for the things one actually needs.