Lok Sabha Question No. 2933 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-05
Subject: Exorbitant Airfare
Ministry: CIVIL AVIATION
Asked by: Achyutananda Samanta

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: : 2933 (To be answered on the December 2019) Sth

## EXORBITANT AIRFARE

## 2933. SHRI ACHYUTANANDA SAMANTA

## Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION

be pleased to state:-

- (a) whether the Government is aware that the airlines are charging exorbitant rate during the peak season, if sO, the details thereof and the action taken thereon;
- (c) whether the Government is aware that the companies are not providing accommodation and food to the passengers during the cancellation and inordinate delay of the flights and if s0, the action taken by the Government to provide the requisite service?
- (b) whether the Government proposes to fix a maximum charge for tickets to each destination and if s0, the details thereof and the action taken in the matter s0 far; and

## ANSWER

Minister of State (IC) in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION

(Shri Hardeep Singh Puri)

(a) to (c) As per prevailing regulation, air fares are neither established nor regulated by the Government  Under the provision of Sub Rule (1) of Rule 135 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, every air transport undertaking engaged in scheduled air services is required to establish tariff having regard to all relevant factors, including cost of operation, characteristic Of services, reasonable and the generally prevailing tariff: Airlines are free to charge reasonable air fares as per their operational viabilities subject to compliance to above said rule;The airline pricing system runs in multiple levels [buckets or Reservation Booking Designators (RBDs)] which are in line with practice being followed globally: The are fixed by airlines keeping The air fare increases with rise in demand of seats. Some of the airlines offer advance purchase (Apex fare) at discounted fares which would entail travelling even during peak seasons. The fare structures are displayed by airlines on their profit prices air fares charged by them are in line with fare displayed on their website.

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) Section 3- Air Transport, Series M, Part IV titled "Facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights I As per the CAR, affected passengers are required to be compensated and facilitated by the airlines Airline-wise detail in respect of number of passengers affected due to cancellation & delay of flights and compensation/facilitation provided to them for the last 06 months (May, 2019 to October, 2019) is attached as Annexure:

Further, with a view to maintain transparency, DGCA monitors air fares on certain routes selected on random basis to ensure that airlines do not charge air fares outside the range declared by them: The fare monitoring analysis carried out by DGCA in the recent past has shown that the air fares remained well within the fare bucket uploaded by the airlines on the respective websites: In case, any steep fare hike is observed, Ministry of Civil Aviation/ DGCA sensitize the airlines for necessary intervention.

Statement referrred to in reply of Lok Sabha Unstarred Q No: Airline-wise detail in respect of number of 2933 passengers affected due to cancellation & of May-19 flights delay

| Airline    | Cancellations   | Cancellations                          | Delays Beyond 2 Hrs   | Delays Beyond 2 Hrs   |
|------------|-----------------|----------------------------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|
|            | No: of Pax      | Status of Facilities & ion (In Ilakhs) | No. of Pax            | Facilities            |
| Air India  | 4767            | 17.72                                  | 32635                 | 37.74                 |
| Pawan hans |                 |                                        | 16                    | 0.47                  |
| Spicejet   | 6732            | 27.78                                  | 43450                 | 69.71                 |
| Go Air     | 233             |                                        | 1574                  |                       |
| IndiGo     | 1346            | 0.26                                   | 32547                 |                       |
| Air Asia   | 1785            | 0.13                                   | 4005                  | 10.53                 |
| Vistara    | 878             | 0.40                                   | 7154                  |                       |
| Star Air   | 82              |                                        |                       |                       |
|            | 125             | 1.18                                   |                       |                       |
| Air Deccan |                 |                                        |                       |                       |
| TOTAL      | 15948           | 47.46                                  | 121381                | 118.45                |

| Jun-19     | Jun-19        | Jun-19                                                                     | Jun-19          | Jun-19                          |
|------------|---------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------|---------------------------------|
| Airline    | Cancellations | Cancellations                                                              | Delays Beyond 2 | Delays Beyond 2                 |
|            | No: of Pax    | Status of Facilities & Affected |Compensat (Affected lion (In Ilakhs) | No: of Pax      | Status of Facilities (In lakhs) |
| Air India  | 9324          | 22.11                                                                      | 52934           | 87.47                           |
| Pawan hans | 13            | 0.37                                                                       |                 |                                 |
| Spicejet   | 5966          | 20.36                                                                      | 39795           | 67.95                           |
| Go Air     | 219           |                                                                            | 1872            |                                 |
| IndiGo     | 3123          | 0.28                                                                       | 96620           |                                 |
| Air Asia   | 28            | 1.07                                                                       | 5345            | 12.99                           |
| Vistara    | 1109          | 8.66                                                                       | 12012           | 28.90                           |
| Star Air   | 111           | 0.06                                                                       | 39              | 0.07                            |
| Trujet     | 48            | 1.17                                                                       | 275             | 0.08                            |
| Air Deccan | 32            | 0.48                                                                       |                 |                                 |
| TOTAL      | 19973         | 54.55                                                                      | 208892          | 197.46                          |

| Jul-19     | Jul-19        | Jul-19                                                           | Jul-19              | Jul-19                          |
|------------|---------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|---------------------------------|
| Airline    | Cancellations | Cancellations                                                    | Delays Beyond 2 Hrs | Delays Beyond 2 Hrs             |
|            | No. of Pax    | Status of Facilities & Affected |Compensat Affected ion (In | No. of Pax          | Status of Facilities (In lakhs) |
| Air India  | 10000         | 25.30                                                            | 54525               | 64.34                           |
| Pawan hans | 13            | 0.37                                                             |                     |                                 |
| Spicejet   | 15149         | 75.35                                                            | 64661               | 108.25                          |
| Go Air     | 315           |                                                                  | 4378                |                                 |
| IndiGo     | 18678         | 0.23                                                             | 96620               |                                 |
| Air Asia   | 578           | 2.21                                                             | 11266               | 30.35                           |
| Vistara    | 2782          | 8.08                                                             | 23404               |                                 |
| Star Air   | 142           | 0.30                                                             | 39                  | 0.07                            |
| Trujet     | 601           | 9.35                                                             | 441                 | 0.18                            |
| Air Deccan | 14            | 0.12                                                             |                     |                                 |
| TOTAL      | 48272         | 121.33                                                           | 255334              | 203.19                          |

| 19 Aug:    | 19 Aug:             | 19 Aug:                                   | 19 Aug:             | 19 Aug:                                   |
|------------|---------------------|-------------------------------------------|---------------------|-------------------------------------------|
| Airline    | Cancellations       | Cancellations                             | Beyond 2 Hrs Delays | Beyond 2 Hrs Delays                       |
|            | No. of Pax Affected | IStatus of Facilities & Compens ation (In | No. of Pax          | Status of Facilities Affected I(In lakhs) |
| Air India  | 10037               | 15.24                                     | 46160               | 54.23                                     |
| Pawan hans | 33                  | 1.01                                      | 26                  |                                           |
| Spicejet   | 5858                | 33.07                                     | 47600               | 93.97                                     |
| Go Air     | 185                 |                                           | 4703                |                                           |
| IndiGo     | 8187                | 0.23                                      | 95682               |                                           |
| Air Asia   | 653                 | 0.39                                      | 1264                | 3.52                                      |
| Vistara    | 531                 | 0.74                                      | 8100                |                                           |
| Star Air   | 201                 |                                           | 39                  | 0.07                                      |
| Trujet     | 675                 | 4.37                                      | 486                 | 0.26                                      |
| Air Deccan |                     | 0.14                                      |                     |                                           |
| TOTAL      | 26368               | 55.20                                     | 204064              | 152.05                                    |

| Sep-19       | Sep-19              | Sep-19                                    | Sep-19               | Sep-19                          |
|--------------|---------------------|-------------------------------------------|----------------------|---------------------------------|
| Airline      | Cancellations       | Cancellations                             | Beyond 2 Hrs_ Delays | Beyond 2 Hrs_ Delays            |
|              | No. of Pax Affected | (Status of Facilities & Compens ation (In | No. of Pax Affected  | Status of Facilities (In lakhs) |
| Air India    | 3050                | JakhsL 18.92                              | 58147                | 52.14                           |
| Pawan hans   |                     | 0.29                                      |                      |                                 |
| Spicejet     | 4723                | 37.53                                     | 47825                | 62.73                           |
| Go Air       | 345                 |                                           | 5216                 |                                 |
| IndiGo       | 11366               | 0.13                                      | 29698                |                                 |
| Air Asia     | 345                 | 2.51                                      | 5589                 | 19.76                           |
| Vistara      | 488                 | 0.90                                      | 7878                 |                                 |
|              | 187                 |                                           | 39                   | 0.07                            |
| Trujet       | 2826                | 2.20                                      | 48                   | 0.03                            |
| Air Deccan   |                     | 0.04                                      |                      |                                 |
| Air Heritage |                     |                                           | 36                   | 0.10                            |
| TOTAL        | 23341               | 62.52                                     | 154479               | 134.82                          |

| Oct-19       | Oct-19              | Oct-19                                           | Oct-19              | Oct-19              |
|--------------|---------------------|--------------------------------------------------|---------------------|---------------------|
| Airline      | Cancellations       | Cancellations                                    | Beyond 2 Hrs Delays | Beyond 2 Hrs Delays |
|              | No. of Pax Affected | Status of Facilities & Compens ation (In HlakhsL | No. of Pax Affected | Facilities          |
| Air India    | 6485                | 20.81                                            | 63189               | 62.93               |
| Pawan hans   |                     | 0.30                                             |                     |                     |
| Spicejet     | 6885                | 24.23                                            | 45326               | 80.29               |
| Go Air       | 106                 |                                                  | 4884                |                     |
| IndiGo       | 9526                | 0.15                                             | 93771               |                     |
| Air Asia     | 1176                | 21.22                                            | 4347                | 9.44                |
| Vistara      | 465                 | 0.29                                             | 7991                |                     |
| Star Air     | 57                  |                                                  |                     |                     |
| Trujet       | 980                 | 0.82                                             | 103                 | 0.02                |
| Air Deccan   | 10                  |                                                  |                     |                     |
| Air Heritage | 77                  | 1.08                                             | 77                  | 1.08                |
| Zoom Air     |                     |                                                  |                     |                     |
| TOTAL        | 25776               | 68.89                                            | 219691              | 153.76              |