Passengers will soon learn more about the various fares available on any route, thanks to a directive from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Monday.It has asked all airlines to post various fare categories route-wise and date-wise on their websites by December 8.
Airlines say they have accepted the directive, though many feel this would give away competitive information on the number of seats at each price point, which could have an adverse impact on business.
An Air India spokesperson confirmed that the airline would make public the fare details as directed.
"We will publish the fare details as asked by DGCA; we are a service for the aam admi," said the spokesperson.
DGCA had earlier rejected fares furnished by the airlines based on distance.
Those fares had come under fire because on many routes like Delhi-Mumbai, the maximum one-way fare declared by some airlines was as high as Rs 30,000.
These fares were rejected by DGCA.
"All the airlines have agreed to upload route-wise fares across the network in various fare categories commensurate with date of purchase on their websites by 1700 hours (5 pm) on December 8," stated a release from the civil aviation ministry.
In mid-November, the Delhi-Mumbai sector saw a 200-300 per cent jump in fares, attributed to a number of factors.
In the same period, airfares across the domestic network were also 15-25 per cent higher. However, fares in December, which is the peak holiday season, seem to be reasonably priced.
For instance, Delhi-Mumbai fares are as low as Rs 5,100 for Tuesday. Even for New Year's Eve, fares are at around Rs 3,000, while for the Christmas week, it is around Rs 4,000.
Airlines have said the hike in fares were due to a huge increase in passenger numbers, shortage of capacity, especially in Delhi, and passenger load factors on some routes reaching as high as 93
per cent.
Sources say that at the meeting on Monday, airlines were briefed about the provisions of Rule 135 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, on publishing tariffs and asked to maintain transparency.
But many airlines say they already follow the rules as they provide their fares in the Internet.
However, they argue the rule does not ask them to give details of their various tariff structures on a single route.
Airlines say full-service carriers already furnish their fares and bucket structures to the Tariff Publishing Company, an international outfit which gives the information to international booking and distribution systems like Amadeus.
The airlines say all global airlines do this, but this information is given confidentially. DGCA is asking them to post this information on the web.
Meanwhile, at a Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry conference Kingfisher chairman Vijay Mallya said: "There is no case of capping airfares in a liberalised environment, be it at the upper or lower band.
"It is a function of demand and supply and there is no exploitation by airlines."
Mallya added that to resolve the air fare issue, the government should look into taxation issues, as jet fuel costs in India are 60 per cent higher than in Dubai or Singapore.
"Bring ATF in the declared goods category and we will pass the savings on to consumers," he said.
