Praful Patel says, new fares suggested by airlines can’t be justified
December 3rd, 2010 - 6:59 pm ICT by ANINormal
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New Delhi, Dec.3 (ANI): Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel
said on Friday that the new fares suggested by airlines cannot be justified and
the Government has taken a serious notice of the suggestions.
Earlier, the domestic airlines had proposed a massive rise
in ticket prices, ignoring the Government’s calls not to resort to exorbitant
fares.
The new fares have been submitted for review to the
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Patel said the Government has found airlines are trying to
take undue advantage of passengers by increasing their fares.
He further said a new economic advisory council has been set
up to oversee fares and economic regulations.
Civil Aviation Secretary Nasim Zaidi will head the council,
which will include the CEOs of airlines, representatives of consumer forums,
and members of the DGCA.
The Civil Aviation Minister said airlines are entitled to
raise fares closer to the date of travel, so a passenger who books later pays
more for a ticket.
He also said that he would like to see a fair balance
between the needs and rights of passengers and airlines.
If the proposed airfare gets approval by the ministry and
the DGCA, the fares may see a 300 percent hike.
Most of the airlines have proposed price bands in four slabs
of distances.
The airlines have proposed fares and distances under these
slabs: up to 750 km: low cost carrier (LCC) fares’ starting from Rs 2,200 and
full service carrier (FSC) maximum of Rs 13,000; between 750-1,000 km: Rs
3,000(LCC)-Rs 20,000 (FSC); between 1,000-1,400 km:Rs 4,000 (LCC)-Rs
25,000 (FSC); and over 1,400 km:Rs
5,000 (LCC)-Rs 40,000 (FSC).
The domestic airlines came out with the proposal after they
were asked by the DGCA to submit the planned price bands on various sectors
after some of them resorted to steep hike in airfares. (ANI)
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- Air prices will soon stabilise, says Praful Patel - Dec 04, 2010
- Aviation Ministry, DGCA unhappy with airlines' steps to lower fares - Dec 13, 2010
- DGCA asks airlines to be reasonable, transparent on airfares - Dec 04, 2010
- Domestic airlines' 2011-12 losses around Rs.10,000 crore - May 03, 2012
- Airlines told to publish date-wise air fares - Dec 06, 2010
- Government warns airlines on high fares (Lead) - Nov 25, 2010
- Airfare to rise along with fuel price, says Praful Patel - Jan 18, 2011
- Airline industry should do more to lower fares: Patel - Dec 14, 2010
- Airlines quizzed on fare hike during Air India stir - May 13, 2011
Tags: ceos, civil aviation, consumer forums, dgca, directorate general, domestic airlines, economic advisory council, economic regulations, low cost carrier, massive rise, nasim, praful patel, price bands, rs 2, rs 40, service carrier, slabs, steep hike, ticket prices, zaidi