NEW DELHI: Following last Friday's steep 7.6% hike in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, airlines have started hiking fares. Air India on Monday hiked fuel surcharge by Rs 150 on domestic flights of upto 1,000 km and by Rs 250 for longer ones. It hiked fuel surcharge for international flights by $15 (Rs 840) for a one-way ticket and by $30 (Rs 1,680) for return tickets with immediate effect.
Other airlines say they will follow suit and hike fares shortly as such announcements are always staggered to avoid the charge of cartelization. The impact on domestic flights is going to be much more as the hike in price for domestic ATF is to the tune of over 16% in past two months and jet fuel prices are at an all time high currently. "We have no option but to hike fares to recover this additional cost burden from passengers," said an airline official.
As the latest fuel surcharge hike is coming at a time when fares are already very high, airport operators fear that the sharp fall in domestic flyers could get even worse. This July saw a 10% fall in domestic flyers over same period last year and the International Air Transport Association says India is witnessing the sharpest fall globally in air travel within a country.
No comments:
Post a Comment