Following the Supreme Court’s direction, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) would look into the tariff structure of Indian airlines. The SC’s direction was in view of the wide range of the base prices of air tickets. The apex court observed that the price bands were too wide and directed the DGCA to examine the matter.
Efforts would be made to compress these price bands, which range from 12 to as high as 22 set by different airlines on each sector, and make air fares more transparent so that the travelling public are clear about the cost of travel. While there was a need to make the price bands more transparent, there should also be some rationale behind the huge differences between the highest and the lowest air fares in these price bands, they said.
Justifying the higher price bands, airline industry sources said that they have to take into account, apart from the actual costs of air travel, the variable costs on inputs like jet fuel, whose prices continue to rise, and staff costs.
While the Airlines Passengers Association of India (APAI) has welcomed the apex court’s directions, some aviation experts have also objected to the inclusion of congestion charges or extra charges of Rs 50 for giving a printout of the ticket.
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