New Delhi, Dec 6 : A day after being rebuked by the government over unreasonably high air fares, private airlines have slashed ticket prices on most routes.
Tickets on the Delhi-Mumbai sector, for Saturday evening and Sunday morning, are available for Rs 5,900. Earlier, the lowest available ticket on the Delhi-Mumbai sector was priced at over Rs 17,000, reports added.
DGCA had earlier this week asked airlines to submit the planned price bands on various sectors after some of them resorted to steep hike in airfares even during the non-peak season. The Indian carriers then proposed a price band which too was dismissed by the DGCA terming it arbitrary.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, on Saturday, said that he was hopeful of air fares coming down.
New air fare (approximately)
* Delhi-Hyderabad: Rs 5,000 to 13,000
* Bombay-Trivandrum: Rs 4,500 to 14,000
* Delhi-Chennai: Rs 5,000 to 15,000
* Bombay-Bangalore: Rs 3,500 to 7,000
* Delhi-Bombay: Rs 5,000 to 10,000
Patel also warned that if remedial action was not taken by air carriers, then the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is empowered to take such action as would benefit travellers.
"The regulator is not helpless. It should not be presumed that the regulator cannot take action. I am sure they can and they will when the situation warrants," the minister said.
Patel had also said earlier that either exorbitant fares or "predatory fares" (lowering of ticket prices even below cost to under-cut competing airlines) would not be allowed.
DGCA had called a meeting with top executives of all Indian carriers to explain why they have proposed such high fares.
While SpiceJet, GoAir and IndiGo officials had met DGCA yesterday, full-service carriers Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines will meet the regulator tomorrow.
Source: Agencies
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