Airlines plan steep hike in fares, DGCA to step in
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Dec. 2: Air travellers may have to shell out hefty amounts if the fare bands proposed by airlines, which will also take into account the distance factor are approved by the civil aviation regulator DGCA. If approved, this would mean that a passenger will have to pay as Rs 10,500 for a Delhi-Chandigarh or Chennai-Coimbatore flight and `40,000 on the Delhi-Bangalore or Delhi-Kolkata route.
The domestic airlines came out with the proposal after they were asked by the directorate general of civil aviation to submit the planned price bands on various sectors after some of them resorted to steep hike in airfares even during the non-peak season. The proposal was submitted on Wednesday.
The civil aviation minister, Mr Praful Patel, said on Thursday the airlines would not be allowed to charge exorbitantly.
“DGCA will not allow any exorbitant pricing. If there is something lacking we will make the necessary correction. We will not let them take advantage of a situation,” he said.
DGCA sources said the proposed fares which is based on four distance slabs were being examined but made it clear that there should not be a situation where the airlines fleece passengers though a huge fare increase. The average price would be lower if tickets are bought in advance. The fares would reach their peak if purchased on the day of travel or just a day before, the sources said.
The regulator, which has established a Tariff Analysis Unit to keep a tab on the prevailing fare levels, would take a decision on the matter very soon, the sources said. The Unit would monitor route-wise tariff across their networks on a regular basis from now on.
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