Airlines dump fuel hike burden on travellers

Harried by a spike in aviation turbine fuel prices and travel industry downturn as a result of a slowing global economy, airlines have decided to hit back by attacking your pocket.

It is not just the tickets that cost a bomb, everything in the ecosystem is pinching the passengers' pocket more. Quietly, the airlines have hiked the charges for cancellation of tickets, extra baggage, paper ticket printouts besides charging extra for unaccompanied minors.

All these charges are in addition to the 30-40 per cent hike in airfares in the past six months.

While the cancellation fee for domestic air tickets has been increased by almost 30 per cent from Rs 750 to Rs 950, it is much higher for international ticket cancellations.

Similarly, extra baggage charges per kilogram have been doubled from Rs 100 to Rs 200, while a traveller carrying an e-ticket is being made to pay Rs 50 for a printed ticket by all airlines. Also children up to 12 years, who are travelling without their guardians, are being charged Rs 1,000 extra.

All airlines such as Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines besides the low-cost-carriers such as Indigo, SpiceJet, GoAir and others have also hiked these charges making air travel more expensive.

Interestingly, the airlines hiked the charges soon after the government removed E. K. Bharat Bhushan from the chair of India's aviation regulator - the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Bharat Bhushan was vociferous about weeding out the ills afflicting the industry. His guidelines disciplined the airlines besides checking exorbitantly high air fares. This was over and above his crackdown on fake pilots and curbs on illegal flying schools.

Strangely, Bharat Bhushan's successor Arun Mishra claimed ignorance about the hike in the cost of the aforementioned services. He told MAIL TODAY on Monday that it is a commercial decision of the airlines and that it would not be proper for the regulator to unnecessarily get into the day-today business of the airlines.

"It is within the right of the airline to hike charges for such facilities. If the airlines are doing so within the given band, we have no role then. The market forces will decide on it," said the DGCA chief.

However, Mishra assured that he would look into the matter.

An old-hand in aviation, Mishra was India's representative at the International Civil Aviation Organisation before joining the DGCA last month.

The travel and tourism industry is not complaining about the hike in air fares. Ankur Bhatia, managing director, Amadeus India, said airlines across the world increase their ancillary services (non-flying revenue) wherever air fares are low.

"Airlines have to make money to keep flying. air fares in India have been low for quite a long time. Airlines cannot be held responsible for imposing or hiking charges on services. Such charges are justified," Bhatia said. Amadeus is a ticketing solutions provider for the travel and tourism industry.

Chairman of Competition Commission of India (CCI) Ashok Chawla, however, said if the airlines have collectively agreed to hike and impose additional charges, then that could be a case of cartelisation, which the CCI would investigate.

"If they (airlines) have done so and there is some element of that (cartelisation), I will look into the matter. If airlines are taking advantage of the situation where there is more demand and less supply then that is a point which we will probe," Chawla said.

Chawla was earlier India's finance secretary.

Former bureaucrat and aviation expert Sanat Kaul said although the airlines are allowed to take decisions on ticketing and air fares, there is every possibility of this permission being misused.

"Bhushan (former DGCA head) was very strict and no airlines could dare to do anything against the norms. Now with the change of guard at the DGCA, we do not have a strong regulator to take on these airlines. Only the CCI can probe the cartelisation by the airlines," Kaul said.

He said there is a similar situation in the US now where the government has taken a strong stand against the airlines. "If not increasing ticket cost, the airlines are inventing new ways to hike fares," Kaul added.

Recently, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) had rapped the ministry of civil aviation for imposing user development fee and other charges on passengers which contributed to hike in air fares. The CAG also slammed the GMR Group-managed Delhi International Airport Ltd for making irregular withdrawals to the tune of Rs 26.05 crore from the UDF escrow account.

Passengers are feeling cheated as the airlines have quietly hiked the charges without any announcement.

"It is very clear that soon after Bharat Bhushan was sacked, the airline hiked charges. They will continue to do so within the prescribed band, which will help them corner big profits and loot travellers," Santosh Rathore, a Delhi-based frequent flier, said.

Airlines have to keep their air fares within the prescribed band which depends on various factors.

The range of the band is such that airlines can even stretch their air fare to Rs 18,000-Rs 22,000 for a New Delhi-Mumbai flight. Currently, the air fare on this route is anywhere between Rs 8,000 and Rs 15,000.



Courtesy: Mail Today