Up flights on Go First routes, cool fares: Aviation minister Scindia

NEW DELHI: Union aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia asked domestic airlines on Monday to add capacity on routes that have seen a sharp hike in airfares after Go First suspended flights on May 2 this year.
While international airfares have been at record highs since 2021, now even domestic ticket prices are near all-time highs. For instance, a Delhi-Leh return ticket had risen to Rs 52,000 on budget airlines some days ago, while the Delhi-Paris return fare at that time was Rs 56,000.
Scindia held a meeting with airlines on Monday to discuss this issue. “The minister shared his concern regarding surge pricing on certain routes. He has asked airlines to self-monitor airfares on certain routes that have seen considerable surge pricing of late, particularly those that were earlier being serviced by Go First. They have been asked to devise a mechanism to ensure reasonable pricing within the high RBDs (reservation booking designator). This shall be monitored by the DGCA,” an official said.
Airlines keep a certain number of seats in different fare buckets. As one price level get sold out, fares move to the next, higher level. Since airfares are deregulated, the government or DGCA can’t do much about the same soaring during crush times — like when an airline shuts down and in peak travel seasons. Go First’s collapse in May, just before the summer travel season, delivered a double whammy on both counts.

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