NEWS
Domestic airlines, including the low-cost carriers, arbitrarily increased airfares by 30-40 per cent, post-Diwali, attracting the ire of both the consumers and the Civil Aviation Ministry. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) sought explanations from the airlines and subsequently issued a circular that the airlines publish on their websites or newspapers, the maximum airfare that the airline was likely to charge. The airlines also submitted to the DGCA a proposal on the fare bandwidth based on four distance slabs. The DGCA is to make its decision on the proposal public. Meanwhile, the airlines have announced 20-25 per cent cut in fares.

VIEWS
Post-Diwali and with the onset of the holiday season, a round-trip economy ticket for Delhi-Mumbai on Jet Airways was priced at Rs. 35,999, while lowcost carriers SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir were asking for up to Rs 20,000 with booking done a day in advance. The hike was 30-40 per cent on major domestic routes. Passengers cried foul. The airlines remained defiant even as the Civil Aviation Ministry “tried” to rein in the airlines.

Egged by media reports, the Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel decried the airfares and cautioned, “The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has special powers which can certainly be invoked if the airlines do not act responsibly in the days to come.”

Defending the action, Kingfisher Airlines Chairman Vijay Mallya said, “There has been no unjust increase in airfares. Bandwidth pricing is followed across the world and we too are following that. After all, airlines are commercial commodities.”

The airlines maintain that the government cannot regulate the tariff as per the aircraft rules. At best, the DGCA can seek an explanation, but there is no provision of penalty or punishment. The CEO of GoAir Kaushik Khona said any regulation of fares would be a throwback to regulatory regime, which is “not acceptable”.

The spat continues. Meanwhile, the DGCA, which sought replies from the airlines, has come out with a circular asking the airlines to furnish a copy of the route-wise tariff across its network in various fare categories on the first day of every calendar month. Any significant and noticeable change in the established tariff already filed, should be reported to the DGCA within 24 hours of effecting such changes. Airlines are now required to publish the fare bandwidth on its website or in newspapers.