Question : High Air Fare Charged by Airlines

(a) whether it has come to the notice of the Government that the aviation companies have increased their air fare of flights to Middle East/Gulf Sector, if so, the details thereof;

(b) the action taken by the Government to put cap on air fares and protect the welfare and interest of NRIs in Middle East/Gulf Sector;

(c) whether the Government proposes to conduct a discussion with the civil aviation companies so as to provide tickets to NRIs at reasonable rates and if so, the action taken thereon;

(d) whether the Government proposes to introduce a mechanism to regulate the air fare so as to protect the interest of air passengers and if so, the details thereof;

(e) whether the Government proposes to intervene in this matter so as to restrict the exorbitant increase of air fare by aviation companies and if so, the action taken in this regard; and

(f) whether the Government is ready to introduce more Air India Express flights and persuade the private airlines to have more flights from Kerala to the Gulf region under the open sky policy and if so, the details thereof and the details of proposal of the Government to include Air India Express under UDAN Scheme to connect small cities with close-by international destinations?

The Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION
(Shri Jayant Sinha)

(a) to (c): Madam, airlines offer fares at various levels, which are driven by market forces. As the demand goes up, the seats on lower fares get filled. This is a global practice in the aviation industry. Airlines are free to fix reasonable tariffs under the provision of sub-rule(1) of Rule 135 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 having regard to all relevant factors, including the cost of operation, characteristics of service, reasonable profit and the generally prevailing traffic. However, airlines remain compliant with the regulatory provisions of sub-rule (2) of Rule 135 as long as the fare charged by them does not exceed the fare established and displayed on their website. ;
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(d) and (e): No madam, there is no such proposal at present under consideration with government. Any intervention by the Government in the matter of airfares would not only be in contravention of rule 135 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, but also anti-competitive. ;
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(f): Commencement of operation on any route is decided by the airline company itself depending upon the availability of resources and route commercial viability. The Government does not interfere in their operational plan. The present UDAN scheme does not cover international destinations.