It was supposed to be a happy journey to London, one that the Imam family had been planning for the past two months. Everything was set - except the visa, which did not arrive in time for one of its members. "Visa was the villain...As a consequence, half of the family of four will be in London today and the other half at home in India and the US, respectively," Sanjar Imam, director of travel firm Panache World, wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday.
The routes, for which ticket pricing information has been sought, include those connecting Jammu and Kashmir, Leh and Port Blair.
Jet fuel (ATF) prices have been hiked by a steep 6.9 per cent, taking the rates to lifetime high of Rs 75,031 per kilolitre.
'We will be celebrating our friend's ascension as king by distributing sweets.'
With monsoons round the corner, the airlines are busy announcing monsoon offers to woo passengers to travel during the rainy season, which is considered as the lean period for air travel.
A comparison shows that for Delhi to Mumbai air travel, the lowest airfare price is in the range of Rs 2,755, while the surged price for second-AC comes at Rs 4,104, a 42 per cent increase from the current train fares
DGCA would look into the tariff structure of Indian airlines in view of the wide range of the base prices of air tickets, after the Supreme Court observed that the price bands were too wide and directed it to examine the matter.
According to a survey by travel portal ixigo, economy airfares from Mumbai have shot up by almost 25- 30 per cent till the end of March.
Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said the airlines have been responsible in keeping fares reasonable during Chennai and Srinagar floods.
Each band would have its specific lower and upper limits of air fare, and the first such band will consist flights that are of less than 40 minutes duration.
In a move that could heighten competition among airlines on the India-Singapore route, Singapore-based budget carrier Tiger Airways
Major domestic airlines on Wednesday said they were considering imposing a fuel surcharge and hiking air fares following the announcement of a Rs 1,600/kl rise in jet fuel prices from midnight on Wednesday.
Oil companies have slashed Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices by Rs 2,221 per kilo litre with effect from midnight on Wednesday.
State-run oil companies on Wednesday raised prices of aviation turbine fuel, or ATF, for the third time in a month, this time by about 6.7 per cent, in step with international rates, which are firming up.
Despite no real change in the economics governing their industry, coinciding with the lean season, low fares on domestic sectors -- as promised by the airlines -- are suddenly back. The drop in fares, in many instances, is quite significant.
Air travel may get a tad more expensive during the coming festive season with at least one major carrier thinking of raising fares, but the hike is expected to be only in single digit in percentage terms. "We are looking at raising the fares during the festive season. No concrete decision has been taken yet. But the increase will not be very high because of competition. It will not be in double-digit," Jet Airways CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer told reporters.
The Indian aviation market's recovery has been significantly impacted by caps on fare and capacity that has been placed by the government since May last year, said Willie Walsh, the director general of global airlines body IATA, on Tuesday. When India resumed the scheduled domestic flights on May 25 last year after a two-month break in view of COVID-19 lockdown, it had allowed the carriers to operate not more than 33 per cent of their pre-Covid domestic services. This capacity cap has been gradually increased and it now stands at 65 per cent.
On Wednesday, Air India had carried out a test flight landing at the naval base.
This season, even as airlines hike fares and go stingy on discounts, customers are gaining from the various offers given by travel portals.
The average fare on the Delhi-Mumbai route has come down to Rs 6,000, compared with a whopping Rs 15,000 in mid-November, according to an airline executive.
A parliamentary panel on Friday recommended for fixing of an upper limit for the economy class airfares to curb the "exorbitant" air fares during the peak tourist seasons.
Jet Airways on Friday said it will raise fares by 10-15 per cent as early as this month to offset rising jet fuel prices -- a decision that possibly stems from confidence about returning passenger demand.
Air fares in India were about 300 per cent higher than those in China and some other countries because of high tax rates, Jet Airways chief Naresh Goyal said on Monday, asserting that the aviation industry could not grow with such taxation.
Owing to a demand-supply mismatch, all the airlines are seeing an increase in revenues.
The country's 5,000 MPs, MLAs and MLCs should resolve in this historic year to return to the people the favour they have been doing by relentlessly nurturing democracy over the last 70 years, he said.
UDAN scheme takes off; fares capped at Rs 2,500 for 1-hr flight
Mittu Chandilya has promised himself and AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes that through the next four-five years, India operations would be the largest among those of AirAsia subsidiaries.
Air travel is likely to become costlier from October 14 with all major domestic airlines planning a hike of 10 per cent in line with the spurt in oil prices.
Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey said on Friday there would be no compulsion on airlines.
Jet is the largest player in the Mumbai airport, with over 110 domestic slots and 30 international slots from the city.
A free and open aviation market, where the government keeps the interest of consumers higher than saving any airline.
Travel companies are expecting a heavy rush to the US following the withdrawal of curbs on fully vaccinated travellers from select countries, including India, on November 8. The move will benefit those holding long-term tourist, business, and work visas. Also, new and extra flights by Air India and American Airlines are expected to provide better travel options.
Airfares are set to rise with the government deciding to levy up to Rs 8,500 per flight on major routes to fund the regional air connectivity scheme.
Air travel is going to be dearer as major airlines have decided to raise the fares by at least 10 per cent besides increasing the fuel surcharge. The move by Air India, Jet Airways, Spicejet and Kingfisher comes in view of rise in prices of aviation turbine fuel by over nine per cent in line with the increase in international crude oil rates.
Whatever post-reform Indian capitalism is, one thing it isn't - and that is an untrammelled 'free market' system, says T N Ninan.
As many as 3,000 travel agents owing allegiance to TAAI have voluntarily decided to keep shutters down to protest airlines' certain unethical business practices.
Jet's operating fleet reduced from 103 planes in October 2018 to 35 now, leading to massive cancellations and a surge in airfares