Airlines are responsible for hike in fares: Ajit Singh

Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has said that Indian carriers are responsible for the recent hike in airfares. "Airfares are not regulated by the government and the airlines follow dynamic airfare policy," Ajit Singh said while responding to a question in Parliament.

In the last six months, air travellers have witnessed close to a 40% hike in airfares. This has been attributed to the critical financial conditions of the carriers, expensive aviation turbine fuel, User Development Fees (UDF) and an increase in Airport Development Fees (ADF).

"They offer different fare buckets for each flight. The fare-buckets vary from flight to flight. The airfares are dynamic and they increase with the increase in demand for seats. From September 2012 the scheduled domestic airlines have introduced a lowest fare bucket for advance purchase," said Singh.

The crisis in national carrier Air India and beleaguered Kingfisher Airlines has been attributed also to the steep hike in prices of air tickets, as sudden cancellation of flights reduced the capacity on various domestic routes.

Currently, the Delhi airport has been charging domestic passengers an ADF of Rs 200, and international passengers Rs 1,300. In Mumbai, the ADF is Rs 100 for domestic passengers, and Rs 600 for international travellers. Passengers flying out of Delhi airport have to pay an additional Rs 520 for domestic travel, and Rs 1,200 for international in the form of UDF.

"Scheduled domestic airlines have been asked to display established tariff route-wise and fare category-wise on monthly basis and also to notify noticeable changes to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) within 24 hours of affecting such a change. The intention behind the above directions is to keep the passengers informed of pricing patterns of airlines. Further, the DGCA also monitors tariff on specific sectors on regular basis," Singh explained in the Parliament.

Currently, Indian carriers are restricted to fix the prices of their tickets for a particular route as per the prescribed band, which depends on various factors. For instance, the airlines can hike the fare for a ticket from Delhi to Mumbai by up to Rs 22,000. At present, a traveller has to pay anywhere between Rs 8,000 and Rs 15,000 for a ticket on this route.