The directorate general of civil aviation on Saturday issued an advisory capping air fares amid large-scale disruptions, but travel agents said on Sunday that fares on some flights and sectors were still very high.
Seats on flights to other metros for Monday and Tuesday were unavailable on Sunday due to high demand.
“No tickets to Delhi for Monday and Tuesday,” a man at one airline counter (not IndiGo) at gate 3C of the Calcutta airport told a passenger on Sunday afternoon. A ticket on a direct flight to Delhi would cost ₹16,000 on December 10 (Wednesday), the Indigo employee said.
At the counter of another airline, a passenger enquired about a ticket to Mumbai on Monday. The man at the counter said slots were available on a 2.40am flight, and a ticket in economy class would cost around ₹18,000. Tickets to Bengaluru were not available until December 10 (Wednesday). But even on that day, the flight would reach Bengaluru via Chennai and a ticket would cost around ₹22,000, the man said.
An online check showed a direct flight from Calcutta to Delhi on Monday evening on a private airline costs around ₹19,000. But the price of a one-way direct flight to Chennai on another private airline on Monday afternoon costs upward of ₹30,000. On a third private airline, a one-way direct flight to Bengaluru for Tuesday night costs around ₹23,200.
The government on Saturday issued an advisory calling for airfare caps of ₹7,500 to ₹18,000 to contain the ticket price hike triggered by the IndiGo flight cancellations.
The caps apply only to domestic flights. The cap is ₹7,500 for distances up to 500km, ₹12,000 for travel between 500km and 1,000km, ₹15,000 for 1,000-1,500km, and ₹18,000 for distances beyond 1,500km (such as the 1,760km Delhi-Chennai flights).
These figures exclude the user development fee, passenger service fee and taxes on the air tickets. There are no caps on business-class or the already-subsidised UDAN fares. The fare caps will remain in force until the situation stabilises, the civil aviation ministry said.
“The government advisory is welcome because now airlines cannot charge whatever they want to fleece passengers. The passengers know the maximum price. Having said that, we hope this government initiative is meant solely to clear the backlog. Because the government cannot dictate the airline’s business. Once the backlog is cleared, it should be business as usual — high prices when demand soars and low when demand falls,” said Anil Punjabi, chairman of the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), eastern region.
“This capping has no relevance and is just an eyewash. Because ticket rates are still very high,” said Anjani Dhanuka, chairman, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), eastern region.
Air India issued a statement on Sunday.
“Since December 4, both carriers have proactively capped economy-class airfares on non-stop domestic flights to prevent the usual demand–supply dynamics applied by automated revenue management systems. Both carriers are also in the process of ensuring compliance with the latest directive on airfare caps issued by the ministry of civil aviation on December 6,” said the airline.