Amongst the 3 operators on the national scale, (Jet. Indian Airlines, Sahara) I think Sahara ranks 1.
The point that Sahara scores heavily is the rate competitiveness. They have as of now 2 schemes like flight seat auction (50% off on prices)and the and 6 destination coupons in Rs. 25000. For someone who is looking for upgrade from train travel, I think Sahara provides the space for a user to migrate to air travel. Jet is good in service and brand image, but then Jet does not give user any price advantage. As a young man, shelling money from my pocket, it does matter for me. I mean you actually have a differnce of 3000 Rs to travel from bombay say to calcutta on Sahara airlines auction.
Please note the routes serviced by Sahara are few, but all the major cities are covered.
These people have a young fleet of aircraft managed by some Lufthansa guys. So I don’t think so they are compromising on the quality of fleet that they use.
Overall its the best airline according to my shallow pockets with out compromising on the quality. Although they can improve their brand image a little bit.