Private airlines slash fares by 20-25 pc

Following stiff pressure from the government to bring down air fares, private airlines have decided to slash prices, reports said on Sunday.

Air fares have been brought down by 20-25 per cent after the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) intervention in this regard.

The decision to slash down the fares was taken at a meeting by DGCA?s chief Bharat Bhusan with chief executives of low-cost airlines like IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir on Saturday.

Full-service carriers Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines will meet DGCA officials in Monday, reports said.

A Delhi-Mumbai ticket is now available for between Rs 5,000-Rs 10,000, while the Delhi-Chennai fare is down to Rs 5,000-Rs 15,000.

The fare between Delhi and Hyderabad would be Rs 5,000-Rs 13,000 and Rs 3,000-Rs 12,000 from Mumbai to Chennai.

A Mumbai-Thiruvannathapuram ticket can cost between Rs 4,500-Rs 16,000 now.

Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel had on Friday said that the DGCA is unsatisfied with the inflated airfares and that the airlines cannot charges fares at their will.

?The exorbitant hike in airfares has caused inconvenience to passengers. Now that the aviation sector is back on high growth track, corrective action must be taken immediately,? Patel said at a press conference.

?Airlines cannot charge fares at will,” he said.

Patel?s statement had come a day after he met DGCA officials and reviewed current airfares.

According to DGCA sources, fares of most airlines have shot up at least 25% after Diwali.