Domestic Air Travel Set to Become More Expensive, Details

The government had earlier decided on the price bands for different routes and all the airlines had to mandatorily follow it. Much recently, the government extended the domestic capacity for the airlines to operate their flights by up to 80%, but along with this, the government also increased the price bands set for several routes by up to 30%. This means that domestic flights are set to become more expensive for travellers within India — more details on the story ahead. Price Bands Decided by the Government For Various Routes According to a report from the Times of India, the government has decided to increase the minimum fare by up to 10% and the maximum fare by up to 30%. Let’s take a look at the price bands set for various routes by the government. The Delhi-Mumbai route had a price band of Rs 3,500-10,000, but it has been changed to Rs 3,900-13,000 now. Do mind that these bands are economy fares which do not include passenger security fee (Rs 150 for domestic) and user development fee for airports along with the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The aviation ministry had last year decided to categorise domestic flights into seven categories. Those categories have been updated with new price bands mentioned below. For flights with a duration of up to 40 minutes, the new airfare range has been decided Rs 2,200-7,800. Then fare band for flights with a duration of between 40 to 60 minutes has been decided Rs 2,800-9,800. The fare band for flights with a duration between 60 to 90 minutes has been set at Rs 3,300-11,700. Then for flights with a duration between 90 to 120 minutes, the new price band has been set at Rs 3,900-13,000. Going further, the price band for flights between 120 to 150 minutes, 150 to 180 minutes, and 180 to 210 minutes has been set at Rs 4,500-13,000, Rs 6,100-20,400, and Rs 7,200-24200 respectively. Now the domestic airlines are also allowed to operate up to 80% of their pre-COVID flights. The international flights still remain suspended at the moment and this fare-band for domestic flights will be in effect until March-end.

Comments