New regulator wants say in airfare, disputes

New Delhi: If the Ministry of Civil Aviation has its way, the proposed regulatory authority for the sector will act as an arbitrator in case of disputes over airfare. The airlines, however, will be free to decide on ticket pricing.
The new Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) draft would enable the regulator to function as an arbitrator in case there are disputes on fares between consumers and airlines. The rules would also make it compulsory for airlines to provide the regulator with information on the procedures followed to fix the fares and the number of buckets or seats alloted under various fare tags, among others. It is also contemplating asking the airlines to issue waitlisted tickets to ensure passengers are not offloaded.
A senior civil aviation ministry official said the proposed powers would be vested with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) — the autonomus body which is proposed to supersede the current regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. CAA will be funded by a Rs 12 surcharge on every ticket.
“We do not want to regulate fares, but we are considering a proposal by which the authority will act as an arbitrator in case of disputes. Going forward, the airlines would be asked to hire an ombudsman or the government would act as one,” said the official, who did not want to be identified.
At present, fares are not regulated by any agency and are decided by market demand. Fares in different price range are kept under different buckets, with the lowest selling first and the highest selling last.
26/10/10 Mihir Mishra/Business Standard

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Oct 2010, New Oct 2010