NEW DELHI: The Maharaja of Indian skies on Monday unleashed a fresh offensive in the ongoing international air fare war with the launch of its budget airline A-I Express' Delhi-Abu Dhabi service with tickets priced at Rs 2,750.

A-I Express will operate three flights a week on the Delhi-Abu Dhabi route, which will be hiked to six services a week from next month, an airline spokesperson said. In comparison, its tickets on the Thiruvananthapuram-Abu Dhabi route are priced at Rs 3,250.

Unlike most no-frills airlines abroad, the spokesperson said, A-I Express will provide free snacks, juice and water, but travellers will have to pay for alcoholic drinks.

"Our intention is to offer fares that are about 20 percent-40 percent cheaper than ticket prices of existing airlines on the sectors that A-I Express operates in," an airline official said.

The airline, which will increase its spread in the Gulf markets this year, also plans to start flights to South East Asian destinations with equally competitive air fares from next year.

International air fares have already dropped to new lows with a spate of budget carriers and new entrants announcing flights to India. The entry of Jet Air and Air Sahara into global routes has added fuel to this fare war, which has resulted in fares to most global routes from India dropping by nearly half.

In the current year, the budget airline will operate services to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain in the UAE, besides Muscat and Salalah in Oman. Permission from the Oman authorities for A-I Express to operate flights to Muscat and Salalah have already been received.

While the airline is currently operating its flights using a mix of leased aircraft and planes borrowed from A-I, it has also penned an ambitious fleet acquisition plan worth nearly USD 1 billion. It plans to buy 18 Boeing 737-800W aircraft, which will replace the planes being taken on lease for starting operations.