The civil aviation ministry’s proposal to cap economy class one-way airfares at Rs 20,000 appears more as a knee-jerk reaction to complaints by some members of Parliament to the exorbitant rates charged by some airlines recently for tickets booked on or just before the day of travel, rather than considered thought going into it. People obviously want the best of both worlds: they enjoy rock-bottom rates but complain when they get too high.
The high fares do look like profiteering and exploitation of passengers in need because of the tight position of flights after many were cancelled by besieged SpiceJet. But that is a temporary phenomena. For instance, on Thursday a travel portal announced the Delhi-Mumbai fare at Rs 35,000, but on Friday this was pegged at Rs 2,600 for travel in February.
Therefore, the ministry’s plan to cap fares at Rs 20,000 makes very little sense. In fact, it might justify an airline charging the same amount for a Delhi-Jaipur flight as it does for a Delhi-Kochi flight, that covers a much larger distance.
There is no doubt that airfares in India are chaotic, and special offers by airlines suicidal. But this only underlines the need for the civil aviation ministry to act swiftly to remove the senseless hurdles standing in the way of the airlines’ smooth functioning.
India’s airlines pay the highest fuel charges and airport handling costs, among other irritants, and all of them except one are making losses. Seven months have passed, but the civil aviation ministry is still twiddling its thumbs.
