What’s new for air travellers?

Fly from New Delhi to Chennai on a Jet Airways premium ticket worth Rs21,140 or a lower, discounted version, or from Mumbai to Goa on a low-cost SpiceJet Rs99 ticket, the fuel surcharge is around Rs2,300.
A Competition Commission of India (CCI) adviser said on Friday that the same fuel surcharge by all airlines arouses suspicion of fixing prices as they have different costs. But will it ensure transparency in pricing? That seems unlikely.
Led by oil prices at $120 per barrel, spiralling prices of ATF (aviation turbine fuel) at home are hitting domestic airlines hard. They have recently raised the fuel surcharge on tickets. Their hikes were similar, both for long- and short-haul travel. But, is distance the sole factor for airlines’ differing fuel costs? Aircraft, operating economics and fuel efficiencies should also logically vary.
The civil aviation ministry, however, doesn’t seem quite worried on that count. It has, of course, rightly asked state governments to levy a uniform rate of sales and other taxes on ATF — at present, airlines fuelling their planes face levies ranging from 3% to 30%-plus, depending on where they fuel. But perhaps, it should also have wondered why fuel surcharges are still uniform. 18/05/08 Livemint

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General May 2008