AI scraps fuel cess on select routes

Mumbai: Is the F-word on its way out in the aviation sector? One domestic airline has done away with fuel surcharge — albeit on select routes and only for a certain period — three years after the practice of passing on increases in the cost of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) to flyers was introduced in the country.
Air India unveiled its summer plans on Thursday and announced fares without a fuel surcharge component on 148 domestic sectors, with ticket prices ranging from Rs 1,891 to Rs 2,901. Other airlines are likely to follow suit.
‘‘The fuel surcharge component in a regular fare — it varies from Rs 1,950 to Rs 2,700 depending on the route — will not be levied for these summer fares, provided tickets are purchased 30 days in advance. The other regular fares sold on these flights will continue to include the fuel surcharge,'' an Air India spokesperson said.
It was not clear how may tickets the airline planned to sell in the summer special fare category. The special fares are available at four prices -- Rs 1,891, Rs 2,276, Rs 2,611 and Rs 2,901 -- for domestic routes that include flights from Mumbai to Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Kochi, among others. The fare includes a passenger service fee, the only tax component added to the base fare.
The only other extra that could be added to this fare is the airport development fee, which applies to flights operating to and from Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad. Mumbai airport will charge every outgoing passenger Rs 100 starting April 1, and Delhi airport has been charging Rs 200 since March 1.
27/03/09 Manju V/Times of India

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Categories: NACIL Mar 2009