Sky-high fares: Govt gets tough

New Delhi: The government on Friday rejected a submission by airlines to categorise fares on the basis of distance and warned of action if carriers hiked fares arbitrarily. The airlines' proposed km slabs could have meant even low-cost carriers would charge over Rs 20,000. Civil aviation minister Praful Patel said the passenger couldn't be expected to calculate the distance between two places and airlines must provide sector-wise, category-wise and period-wise slabs.
"We don't accept the km slabs. A passenger is only concerned about the fare from point A to B," he said.
Hoping the "extraordinary" fare hike during Diwali wouldn't be repeated during Christmas, he said that if need be, the government would use its powers to rein in the airlines.
"While the government or Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) are not in the business of regulating fares on a daily basis, we can't be mute spectators... There can be no justification for airlines to hike fares in an arbitrary manner," he said. "What is the earth-shattering reason that a ticket that costs Rs 10,000 today costs Rs 20,000 tomorrow?"
"It is exploitation. Airlines have formed a cartel... Because of the holiday season, getting a train reservation is difficult and helps airlines," said R Desikan of Consumer Association of India.
However, aviation experts debunked the cartelisation theory, saying only last-minute tickets were selling at doubled rates-a common practice.
03/12/10 Tushar Srivastava/Soubhik Mitra/Hindustan Times

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Dec 2010