Minister scolds, airline cuts back fare hike

New Delhi: A leading airline rolled back its fare hike after the Civil Aviation Minister issued a strong statement against “cartelisation”.

“The Ministry is against any cartelisation among airlines. We will keep watch and take strict action in any such case," said Praful Patel while commenting on the fare hike announced by airlines on Tuesday.

Jet Airways announced 30-day apex fares on key domestic routes after Patel made his displeasure over airlines hiking fares clear. Jet’s decision means that if passengers will have to pay a base fare of Rs 300.

If passengers book tickers 30 days in advance on Jetlite, they will have to pay Re 1 as base fare for major domestic routes. The move comes just a day after Network 18 had reported that major airlines have abolished cheap fares.

Patel's statement came as leading airlines decided to stop promotional fares to arrest losses, though flag carrier Air India said its fares will be ten per cent lower than those of Jet Airways and Kingfisher's cheapest rates.

Patel said Air India will "never be a part of such cartelisation and will ensure that competitive pricing ensures better prices to passengers".

Though major airlines decided to stop the low-fare advance purchase (APEX) schemes, an Air India spokesperson said the airline's passengers, while enjoying fares cheaper than those of the private players, would get another ten per cent discount if they bought tickets through the website.

Private carriers said they followed dynamic pricing and adjusted fares on a regular basis depending on market conditions and revenue management practices.

Aviation industry sources said most of the Indian carriers opposed under-cutting each other by substantially lowering the base fares.