Steep airfare won't mar Holi

Civil Aviation Ministry instructs DGCA to take action against airlines hiking fares exorbitantly to avoid rerun of Diwali fracas

YOUR Holi celebrations will not be marred by exorbitant airfares.

Keen to avoid a repeat of the sudden surge in the price of air tickets following increased demand during Diwali in November (see box), the Civil Aviation Ministry has instructed the DGCA to take strict action against airlines if they are found indulging in the practice.
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"The new minister has asked the competent authorities to monitor every hike in airfares during the festive season. He has stated unequivocally that the fares should be fair to travellers and any airlines increasing fares exorbitantly at the last minute will have to face the music," said an official from the ministry, on condition of anonymity.

The Civil Aviation Economic Advisory Council (CAEAC), is also on the job, "I don't think the airlines can increase the fares exorbitantly anymore, but if they do, we will take up the matter with the concerned authorities," said R Deskian, CAEAC member and trustee, Consumer Association of India.

"We haven't seen any significant increase in bookings on account of Holi. Since there is no increase in traffic on the important routes, any change in airfare will be a result of generic demand-supply factors and not because of the forthcoming festivities," said Keyur Joshi, COO and Co-Founder, Makemytrip.

Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi and DGCA chief E K Bharat Bhushan were not available for comment despite repeated attempts.

MiD DAY IMPACT

MiD DAY was the first to report on airfares reaching an all-time high on November 13, 2010. We revisited the fares on November 23 and found that they were the same. After the MiD DAY report, the airline regulatory body, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a circular to all airlines to ensure transparency in fares.

The circular asked the airlines to furnish a copy of the route-wise tariff across its network in various fare categories, in the manner it is offered in the market, to DGCA on the first day of every calendar month. The then civil aviation minister, Praful Patel, had also said airlines which did not reduce fares will face punitive action.

Panel to check Festival 'fleecing'
The council, comprising representatives of airlines, the Civil Aviation Ministry and consumer bodies, was setup in November when the issue of exorbitant airfares became the focal point and the DGCA and the Ministry decided to intervene. Civil Aviation Secretary S N A Zaidi heads the council, whose meetings are also attended by the civil aviation minister.