Domestic airlines uploaded different fare levels for each route on their websites tonight following strict instructions from the civil aviation ministry to ensure transparency.
This means a passenger flying between Delhi and Mumbai will now know that the minimum fare in the route will be Rs 95 (as being charged by SpiceJet) and can go up to a maximum of Rs 22,800 (as being levied by GoAir), plus around Rs 3,000 as components like passenger fees.
“All Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) members have decided that they will make available the fare-related information in a consumer-friendly format. Effective 10 pm today, the eight FIA members’ websites will display tariff sheets indicating the range of fares on all routes. The new format will enable passengers to see online the various fares offered by each member airline on every single route,” said a release from FIA, an airlines’ body.
Air India, GoAir, IndiGo, Jet Airways, JetLite, Kingfisher Airlines, Paramount Airways and SpiceJet are FIA members.
The ministry had fixed Wednesday as the deadline to upload the different fare levels. Over the past few weeks, fares charged by domestic airlines have come under sharp criticism. The airlines were asked to furnish fares after instances of very heavy charging by them were reported in a few sectors.
The release added that the airlines would furnish a copy of the rates they would charge on all routes across their network to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and would also provide the same information on their websites on the first day of every month.
DGCA had asked all the airlines to do so after a fare slab on the basis of kilometres was rejected by the government.
In mid-November, the Delhi-Mumbai sector saw a 200-300 per cent jump in fares due to a number of factors. In the same period, airfares across the domestic network also rose 15-25 per cent in the peak travel season.
The airlines justified the rise in fares, saying these were due to a huge increase in passenger numbers with the passenger load factor on some routes as high as 93 per cent.
