Ash cloud lifts, airfares soar too

Mumbai: The flights have taken off, and so have the fares. In an attempt to make up for the losses when volcanic ash clouds grounded flights to the US and Europe for six days last week, airlines have started hiking fares. Travel agents say that fares have gone up by at least 20% on flights to the US and Europe .
The move comes despite a recent government request to domestic airlines not to profiteer from the disruption by hiking fares. Airlines, in their defence, claim that fares are anyway high during the holiday season, which have further gone up due to the eleventh-hour bookings. Flag carrier Air India and private carrier Jet Airways fly to European cities like London, Brussels and Frankfurt, while Kingfisher Airlines operates regular flights to London .
On April 19, the Union civil aviation ministry had requested airlines not to resort to ‘exploitative’ fares by overcharging stranded passengers or those who were transferred from one carrier to another. Over 40,000 passengers were stranded in India when the European airspace was shut following a volcanic eruption in Iceland, which spewed volcanic ash into the skies.
An analyst said: “It is unlikely that the lost revenues from the disruption can be recovered immediately. Hence, airlines have hiked fares on long-haul destinations.”
27/04/10 Shaheen Mansuri/Financial Express

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Categories: Foreign Apr 2010, Indian Aviation- In General Apr 2010