With suspicions towards cartelisation among airlines emerging after some of them withdrew their low-end air fares, DGCA has directed all scheduled domestic carriers to give details and justification for their decision to 'simultaneously' raise the prices.
The move came after civil aviation minister Praful Patel warned it was time to act against any move towards cartelisation.
"We will keep a watch and take strict action in any such case," Patel, who had earlier asked the carriers to reduce airfares after a fall in jet fuel prices, said.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation shot off letters to all scheduled domestic carriers asking for information regarding the recent hike and transparency in airfare advertising, saying it should be furnished by Saturday.
The regulatory body said it had been brought to its notice that the carriers had 'increased their airfares simultaneously in the second week of February' and the DGCA was 'not aware of the reasons for this simultaneous hike, specifically at a time when the ATF prices, effective February 1, 2009, are at the level that they were in 2005.'
DGCA felt that 'there appeared to be no rationale for increasing the airfares,' an official spokesperson said.
In a separate communication to all scheduled domestic airlines, DGCA has observed that airfares displayed on the respective websites of airlines comprised several components like basic fare and fuel surcharge, congestion charge and passenger service fee, all loosely labelled as taxes.
"This gives an impression to the travelling public that high airfares are due to government taxes," it said. In order to have transparency in airfare advertising, DGCA directed the airlines to display the fare "as one composite fare, correctly indicating the charges accruing to the airlines." This information also has to be given to DGCA by February 14.
Meanwhile, major carriers have said that price fixation on their part was done in accordance with the demand and the competitive environment.
An Air India spokesperson said the flag carrier increased fares on various domestic sectors taking into account a number of factors, including demand and competitive environment, but said it 'does not and will not participate in any price- fixation attempt or mechanism aimed at building a cartel'.
"The recent changes in fares on domestic routes were undertaken by Air India solely as a response to the changed market situation and did not occur simultaneously with the increase in fares by other carriers," the spokesperson said.
