NEW DELHI: Airfares have surged sharply over the weekend, especially on routes that were earlier serviced by Go First.
In some cases, the fare is now 10 times higher than what it what just days ago. On Monday, the cost of an economy class ticket on a non-stop Delhi-Mumbai flight for Tuesday ranged between Rs 16,000 and Rs 30,000. On the Delhi-Chennai route, the prices ranged between Rs 17,000 and Rs 32,000.
To address the situation, Union aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia held a meeting with the Airlines Advisory Group and urged all airlines them to self-regulate their ticket prices. “The airlines must self-monitor airfares on certain select routes that have seen considerable surge pricing of late, particularly those that were earlier being serviced by Go First. A mechanism for ensuring reasonable pricing within the high RBDs (Reservation Booking Designator) may be devised by airlines. This shall be monitored by the DGCA,” Scindia said after the meeting with the Airlines Advisory Group.
Go First stopped flying on May 3, which led to a reduction of capacity at a time when the peak domestic air travel period is around the corner. IndiGo and the Air India group have been accused of using the demand-supply mismatch to raise ticket fares.
Mark Martin, founder and CEO of Martin Consulting, said that it is very important for the government to set checks and balances to protect consumers’ interests, especially from price cartelisation by airlines. “A fresh body should be enacted to monitor ticket prices on an ongoing basis. India is one of the world’s largest aviation markets and therefore it is mandatory that common travellers should not suffer on account of duopolies (referring to IndiGo and Tata Group airlines),” Martin told TNIE.
Meanwhile, Scindia urged airlines to provide free cargo services to the families of those who died in the Odisha rail accident.