New Delhi, Dec. 3: The government on Friday rejected the sky-high fare ceilings submitted by airlines to the DGCA this week that show that some airlines are already charging last-minute fares of over `40,000 on distances beyond 1,400 km and as much as about `24,000 even on short distance routes below 750 km.
The civil aviation minister, Mr Praful Patel, said the fares should be “sector-wise”, “category-wise” and “time-period wise” (that show air fares from “point A to point B” on any specific day) and should not be based on distance. The “exorbitant” and outrageous fare slabs mentioned by airlines were also made public by the ministry on Friday.
“These slabs (based on distance) do not merit any consideration,” Mr Patel told reporters, adding that the DGCA would take action against erring airlines under rule 135 of the Aircraft Act of 1937 if passengers were charged exorbitant fares at the last minute during the Christmas and New Year season.
The government announced the establishment of an economic advisory council (EAC) that will look into several aspects, including the issue of transparency by airlines in disclosure of air fares. Airline representatives have been summoned by the DGCA to a meeting on Saturday.
But what’s shocking is that low cost carrier JetLite, for instance, has mentioned `40,298 as the highest fare level in the over-1,400-km slab. Even Air India has submitted `30,811 as the highest fare in the same slab. Sectors such as Delhi-Chennai and Delhi-Bengaluru fall under this slab. Kingfisher has mentioned `27,999 as its highest fare in the slab of distances between 1,000 km and 1,400 km (that includes the Delhi-Mumbai sector). Even low-cost carrier GoAir has submitted a sky-high fare-cap of `16,000 even on the short-distance slab of up to 750 km (sectors such as Chennai-Bengaluru and Delhi-Jaipur).