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.
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.
Owing to a demand-supply mismatch, all the airlines are seeing an increase in revenues.
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.
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.
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.
UDAN scheme takes off; fares capped at Rs 2,500 for 1-hr flight
Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey said on Friday there would be no compulsion on airlines.
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.
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.
Jet is the largest player in the Mumbai airport, with over 110 domestic slots and 30 international slots from the city.
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.
Indian airlines on Wednesday began evacuating stranded people from flood-ravaged Jammu and Kashmir with Air India flying back 270 passengers free, as DGCA asked them to cap total fares including taxes on Srinagar-Delhi and Leh-Delhi sectors at Rs 2,800 and Rs 3,000 respectively.
The ministry will meet domestic carriers next week to discuss how the upper limit in each bucket could be reduced to bring down average airfares, which have been rising in the past few months.
The policy has been finalised after nearly eight months since the Ministry came out with the revised draft in October 2015.
Holidayers' plans have gone topsy-turvy of late and the options have got limited.
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.
Jet's operating fleet reduced from 103 planes in October 2018 to 35 now, leading to massive cancellations and a surge in airfares
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.
State-owned oil firms on Friday hiked jet fuel prices by almost 2 per cent, the sixth straight increase in rates since October when international crude oil prices started climbing.
It's been a huge draw for Indian tourists this year.
Jet has pulled out flights from Northeast states and also cancelled its Srinagar flight, leading to reduction in capacity.
Presenting the Budget for 2020-21, Sitharaman said Rs 1.7 lakh crore has been provided for transport infrastructure in 2020-21.
Domestic air fares of major carriers are likely to be increased from Thursday and the number of low-fare tickets could be slashed as airlines attempt to cut costs and contain losses.
Miffed hotels, restaurants stare at huge losses on account of advance planning for events that they now have to shelve.
Protesting against the government efforts to reduce high prices charged by airlines on tickets booked at short-term notice, Kingfisher Airlines promoter Vijay Mallya on Monday said that airfares should not be capped by the regulatory authorities, whether it is in upper or lower band.
Airfares in Indian market are unsustainable, says a senior Boeing official.
The introduction of private players would mean that trains will be available on demand and that passenger waitlist will decrease.
Jet Airways is undergoing insolvency proceedings and at least three entities have put in initial bids for the carrier.
DGCA had earlier directed all airlines not to charge anything extra from passengers from Srinagar and Jammu.
The fare will be cheaper as it will be capped at Rs 2,500 per passenger.
Eyeing a larger share of the passenger traffic pie, Malaysia Airlines has reduced the fuel surcharge by 53 per cent from Monday for flights to Kuala Lumpur from India. As a result of the reduction, the return airfare from India to Malaysia starts from Rs 16,528, including taxes, the carrier said in a statement.
In a bid to cash in on summer vacation rush, Jet Airways will launch new no-frills service - Jet Airways Konnect, from May 8 and will provide 10-15 per cent cheaper airfare on the service.
The revised structure will help to keep airfares down, when airlines already face a triple challenge of rising crude oil prices, rupee depreciation and constrained airport capacity.
At the recently concluded Dubai airshow, Akasa, Rakesh Radheyshyam Jhunjhunwala's new airline, signed a $9 billion deal with American aircraft maker Boeing to buy its 737 MAX planes and a $4 billion one for engines with CFM, a joint venture between GE of the US and Safran of France. Unlike his financial doppelganger Warren Buffett, who divested billions from his airline stock portfolio at the start of the pandemic, Jhunjhunwala is wagering his billions in a brand new airline. The legendary investor bought a roughly 40 per cent stake in SNV Aviation in September, Akasa's holding company, started in March by three former Jet Airways colleagues. With aviation still to recover from its pandemic slump, the big question around his foray into domestic aviation, due to take off in summer 2022, is whether it is another pie in the sky.
