Check abnormal surge in airfares: Jyotiraditya Scindia to airlines

Check abnormal surge in airfares: Jyotiraditya Scindia to airlines

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday expressed concern over the “abnormal surge” in airfares on certain routes following the grounding of Go First and told airlines to keep them reasonable. Scindia, however, added that airlines would have to “self-monitor” the issue.

The minister issued the instructions during a meeting with airline executives to discuss the sharp rise in spot fares in the past few weeks.
Airlines were also told to keep a check on the pricing on routes that see high demand due to calamities, and directed to transport the mortal remains of the Odisha train accident victims free of cost.

At the Monday’s meeting, officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation shared their analysis on the rise in airfares, especially on routes like Leh, Goa and Ahmedabad that were among the top destinations for Go First. The airline filed for voluntary insolvency on May 2 and stopped flying. “A mechanism for ensuring reasonable pricing within the high RBDs (Reservation Booking Designator) may be devised by airlines. This shall be monitored by the DGCA,” the civil aviation ministry said in a press statement. 
RBDs refer to fare buckets or slabs used by airlines as part of their revenue management practice.

• Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia asks airlines to “self-monitor” fares on routes that have seen considerable surge
• A mechanism for ensuring reasonable pricing within high RBDs (Reservation Booking Designator) may be devised by airlines, ministry says
• Airlines have also been told to curb prices on routes that see high demand due to calamities

When domestic operations resumed in May 2020 after two months of nationwide lockdown in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, the civil aviation ministry had capped the number of flights that airlines could fly and fares that they could charge. The fare caps were removed last August.

Scindia on Monday asked airlines to keep the highest-bucket fares within reasonable limits, but no written order has been issued as the government has no plan to regulate them.