Low-cost air carriers (LCCs) such as IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir say the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is being mindless on basic competitive concerns regarding passenger fares.
The LCCs were summoned by DGCA yesterday to be told to not only provide details of route-wise fares but to also detail by Wednesday those for each bucket of seats. Seats are grouped into different categories, each at a distinct price; the categories are referred to as buckets.
Top LCC sources — none would come on record — say making public such detail would destroy their competitive edge. And, that no country in the world asks for such figures to be disclosed.
They contend they’ve not been transgressing Rule 135 of the Aircraft Act, on which basis DGCA has asked them to give out the details. “The rule merely says we must publish our tariffs (rates), which we all already do, on the net. It does not tell us to give away competitive information — what our bucket-seat prices are,” said a top executive.
Aviation ministry sources say the DGCA would be meeting the full service carriers (FCCs)— Jet, Kingfisher, Air India — tomorrow for a similar discussion and direction. Says a top GoAir executive: “We will discuss it with other airlines and then come to a decision.”
Executives say most FCCs file their bucket seat prices to the Airlines Tariff Publishing Company, an international outfit which then gives the information to international booking and distribution systems like Amadeus.
“This information is given confidentially, so that other airlines do not know this. All global airlines do that. Now DGCA is telling us, put this on the web. We will be killed,” the GoAir executive adds.
An aviation ministry official said the airlines’ made no commitment on reducing fares. “We have told them their previous fares, which they gave to the DGCA, has been rejected and they should come out with new details.”
Some executives say there are two ways to handle the situation. One is to offer new rates by reducing the maximum fare but increase the minimum and bucket fares across various categories to compensate for the reduction. The second is to take the matter to court and challenge the ministry on its contention that complying under Rule 135 requires giving away the fares of each bucket.
