Kingfisher, Jet Airways not to withdraw congestion surcharge

New Delhi: A day after Air Deccan announced withdrawal of the controversial congestion surcharge by putting the cess of Rs 150 in basic fare, other big players like Jet and Kingfisher made it clear they would not do any such jugglery. Kingfisher CMD Vijay Mallya on Tuesday said airlines will remove the surcharge only when the situation improves. A Jet Airways spokesperson just said the "cess stays for now".
Mallya, on the other hand, lashed out at infrastructural bottlenecks plaguing the country. "When we do costing, we assume a Delhi-Mumbai flight would take upto two hours. But due to congestion and delays at both these places, it takes about an hour more and the additional cost element has to be recovered. To highlight this problem, we levied this cess and all followed," he said, adding, "It makes no sense to be a hypocrite and remove the cess only to put it in basic fare."
Like other players, Kingfisher has joined the chorus of demand for more than one airport in Metros.
28/03/07 Times of India

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Categories: Airports Mar 2007, General Aviation Mar 2007, Jet Airways Mar 2007, Kingfisher Mar 2007