‘An economy class Delhi-Chennai flight costs Rs 28,000 on Air India’: P Chidambaram slams BJP govt on rising airfares 

Congress leader P Chidambaram has criticised the BJP-led central government over rising airfares in the country. Taking to Twitter, the veteran Congress politician noted that economy class Delhi-Chennai flights of Air India cost Rs 28,000 on the same day whereas the same flight with Vistara on the same day costs Rs 12,000. 

Commenting on the rising airfares, he attributed it to a lack of competition in the aviation sector. Taking a jibe at the BJP supporters, the Congress leader said they have missed the central issue of rising airfares on several routes while adding who travels in what class is not the issue. He was referring to people on social media urging him to ditch business class air travel and opt for economy class air travel instead.  

Chidambaram tweeted: “I have the prices for economy class too. On the SAME day and on the SAME route, the prices are Rs 28,000 (Air India) and Rs 12,000 (Vistara). As usual, the bhakts have missed the central issue. The issue is not who travels in what class. The issue is, why are fares rising practically every week?”   

He further added: “And why is AI charging Rs 28,000 and Vistara charging Rs 12,000 on the same day and on the same route? This is what a monopoly or a duopoly does. In a free market, there must be competition. The more intense the competition, the better it will be”.   

Chidambaram had earlier taken potshots at the Centre over high airfares for business class Delhi-Chennai flight by Air India and Vistara. He had said these flights cost Rs 63,000 and Rs 57,000 in Air India and Vistara, respectively. He added airlines are expanding routes, slashing flights on older routes, and hiking prices.   

He further wrote: “In India’s free market, when demand increases, prices will increase. Airlines will expand their routes, curtail flights on old routes, and jack up prices. India will be the Vishwaguru to the world on monopolistic capitalism”.  

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in June convened a meeting with the Airlines Advisory Group to consider the issue of price surges on specific routes. In this meeting, airlines were instructed to self-monitor airfares on select routes, especially those flights serviced by Go First earlier.  

The Wadia Group-owned airlines Go First suspended flight operations and filed for insolvency proceedings in May. The airline blamed US-based jet engine maker Pratt &Whitney (PW) for supplying faulty engines. The suspension of Go First’s flight operations led to skyrocketing airfares across several routes. The Wadia Group-owned airline has a 6.4 per cent share of the Indian aviation market. 

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