A call for differential surcharge on air travel

Considering the lean travel season these days, huge discounts are being offered on domestic air tickets. A Bangalore resident, for instance, saw Mumbai airfare advertised at around Rs 500. "But actually, I ended up paying Rs 2,500 for the ticket. So where was the discount?"
Like him, many consumers are dejected when they see that stated discounts do not factor in surcharges tagged along with air tickets.
Sudhakara Reddy, chairman at Air Passengers' Association of India, gives a breakup of these add-ons. "Rs 225 is the passenger service fee which goes to the government; Rs 1,650 is the fuel surcharge; and Rs 150 is the congestion surcharge. This itself comes to Rs 2,025." Importantly, the chunky fuel surcharge—Rs 1,650—is uniform across all domestic airlines and sectors.
Consumer groups, time and again, have called this an unfair practice. "How can you demand the same surcharge for all flights and all sectors? International carriers such as Singapore Airlines have a different surcharge for different sectors," says Reddy.
K K Bajaj of Ahmedabad-based Consumer Education & Research Centre (CERC) agrees. "Surcharge should be based on distance. If you travelling from Ahmedabad to Mumbai or just 100 kilometres from the city to Baroda, the charge remains the same."
CERC recently sounded off the ministry of civil aviation that the surcharge must be based on fuel consumption and distance.
Consumers too are not in favour of governmental control on ticket prices, but expect some logic to the pricing.
07/03/08 Rucha Biju Chitrodia/Times of India

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Mar 2008