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If sources are to be believed, the Indian government is likely to introduce a new policy for short-distance flights. As per the reports, short-distance flights would be charged at a fixed price of Rs 2,500 per hour and while doing so, excise duty on jet fuel and service tax on tickets for the regional flights would be taken off of the fare. Another charge that may be waived off is the passenger services fee (PSF), which is Rs 149 per ticket, and is used to fund the cost of providing security at airports. 
 
Finance ministry has lend its support to the proposal and the policy would most likely be announced in the upcoming budget. The news has come from the mouth of a senior civil aviation ministry official, on the condition of anonymity. 
 
"The finance ministry has given its consent for the waiver of central excise duty of about 8% on fuel and service tax of about 4.94% on flights under the regional connectivity plan," said the official. 
 
To be eligible for the scheme, states will have to offer value added tax on jet fuel at 1%. 
 
After PM Narendra Modi approved the idea, the ministry set up a committee, and the cabinet secretary was the head of the committe. The members of the said committee met twice and reached on a consensus to execute the plan. 
 
However, not everything is as hunky-dory as it may sound. Take the example of a flight between Delhi and Mumbai. With the standard rate applied, the ticket would cost Rs 5000 flat, but at present, it can cost lesser, even with all the taxes and duties applied. 
 
Nonetheless, experts from the industry say that there will be a strong demand for flights at this standard fare. 
 
<a href="http://www.bnnaviation.com/images/slide-4.jpg">Image source</a>

Soon, Rs 2500/hr flights. No fuel charges or
tax added

Mumbai, To make air <keyword id="6354692" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Travel">travel</keyword> more <keyword id="109687" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Affordable">affordable</keyword>, <keyword id="6356167" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="goair">GoAir</keyword> on Friday announced a sale for passengers planning their domestic travel this year. As part of its "<keyword id="6776295" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="freedom-sale">Freedom Sale</keyword>", the <keyword id="34984" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="airline">airline</keyword> has made available "one million seats" to book on its domestic network. "Starting at an all-inclusive lowest fare of INR 859, the eight-day freedom sale is effective from January 22 to January 29, 2021, and will be valid on one-way fares for travel from April 1 until December 31, 2021 on airline's domestic network," the airline said in a statement. "Passengers planning to book tickets for domestic travel can avail substantial savings on prevailing all-inclusive lowest fares." SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/youtube-starts-rolling-out-hashtag-landing-pages-heres-how-you-can-use-it/articleshow/80401578.cms">YouTube starts rolling out hashtag landing pages⁠— here’s how you can use it</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/heres-how-indians-are-buying-tesla-facebook-and-apple-shares-through-brokerage-startups/articleshow/80403004.cms">Here’s how Indians are buying Tesla, Facebook, and Apple shares through brokerage startups</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/how-to-check-allotment-status-of-indian-railway-finance-corporation-irfc-ipo/articleshow/80406208.cms">Indian Railway Finance Corporation IPO allotment: Here’s how to check share allotment status</a>

GoAir announces 'Freedom Sale', offers 1 million seats to domestic travellers

·Five European airlines, along with Virgin America have either shut shop or merged with others in the last year and a half. ·Indian airlines have been offering discounts in their war to win market share; affecting their profits. ·Jet’s grounding is the only silver lining for the <keyword id="34987" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="aviation-industry">aviation industry</keyword>, as lower competition has increased airfares. It is not just <keyword id="6358200" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="jet-airways">Jet Airways</keyword> that is riding out tough times. As many as five other European airlines, along with Virgin America have either shut shop or merged with others in the past year and a half. Joining this notorious list are Iceland-based WOW Air, Germania from Germany, Denmark-based Primera, Cyprus’s Cobalt Air and UK’s Flybmi, according to a report by CARE Ratings. A range of reasons like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/No-fewer-than-5-European-airlines-have-collapsed-since-October-Here-they-are-/Wow-Air-defunct-March-2019-/slideshow/68673329.cms">failed expansions</a>, rise in crude and carbon costs, and devaluation of the Euro against the Dollar, led to their demise. However, many <keyword id="140941" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="International-airlines">international airlines</keyword> do not face the additional hardships that Indian operators do, like excessive taxation on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF). Domestic airlines in India pay 1.4 times the amount international peers do, due to state-level taxes, CARE ratings said, in its report on Indian airlines. This factor, along with increased crude oil prices and currency volatility in the last two years, took a toll on all domestic airlines in India, not just Jet. Discounted Growth Indian airlines have been offering discounts in their war to win market share. And, this has affected their profits as they charged fares that are one-third of what is charged in developed countries, on major routes. All the three listed airlines posted net losses for the nine months ending 2018-19. Indigo, which has a 40% market share, posted Rs 433 crore net loss. Jet Airways posted a massive net loss of RS 3,208 crore while SpiceJet’s was at RS 372 crore. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t The only good news for Indian airlines is its robust demand and capacity utilisation. But it won’t bring in many advantages, since in the Indian market, it coincides with lower airfares. Jet’s grounding is the only silver lining for the aviation industry, as lower competition has increased airfares and margins will improve. “Domestic passenger traffic growth during the year would moderate to 8-12%, as fares remain high. With Jet Airways’ entire fleet grounded, it would take considerable time for domestic airlines to make up for the extinguished seat inventory,” CARE says. And the ability of airlines to keep fares low, largely depends on how crude oil prices will move. If crude oil prices remain steady, all Indian airlines can post profits by the end of March 2020, all thanks to Jet. Considering that<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/grounded-jet-loses-one-more-senior-executive/articleshow/69323211.cms"> top executives</a> have been quitting the company even as the sale process is on, Jet might have a tougher time getting back in the air.

Jet Airways isn’t the only one, 6 more global airlines have vanished

Domestic carriers are once again trying to spice up the festive season by offering heavy discounts on airfare. India's low-budget carrier Spicejet announced five-day ‘Diwali Dhamaka’ sale on Tuesday, ranging from all-inclusive fares of Rs 899 to Rs 2,499, for travel starting from November 1, 2014, to December 2015. 
 
The sale would be on till October 26 and would be available for short distance travel between sectors like Bangalore-Chennai-Kochi. While on the Bangalore-Goa sector, a one-way ticket price would start at Rs 1,599 and for the rest of India, the starting fare would be Rs 2,499. 
 Soon after SpiceJet announced a discounted ticket scheme, Mumbai-based <keyword id="6358200" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jet-Airways">Jet Airways</keyword> also launched a similar scheme starting from an all-inclusive fare of Rs 899. On the other hand, <keyword id="6354706" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indigo">Indigo</keyword> announced fares between Rs 1,590 to Rs 4,999 on its domestic network. 
 The October-December period is considered as the peak season for air travel in India and generally witnesses an increase in fares by 10-30% each year. According to travel portal <keyword id="132652" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cleartrip">Cleartrip</keyword>, however, fares this year are about 20% lower as compared to same period last year. 
 
As per an airline executive, pricing has been subdued during the peak season this year due to oversupply, resulting in lower occupancy in flights. 
 
Last week, GoAir, another budget Indian airline, had announced a discounted ticket scheme for travel between October 21 and 30 with fares for flights from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Delhi. The fare started from Rs 2,510. However, travel agents call these flash sales a gimmick. 
 “Post-Diwali period is a low season for airlines. Secondly, domestic carriers are facing cash flow problems so these sales are one way for them to collect money in advance. These sales are similar to the ‘up to 50 per cent discounts’ in malls, not all the clothes will have a 50 per cent discount. Similarly, just the first 10 tickets will be low-priced. Such sales are gimmicks and mislead the public. For travel agents, these sales are an irritation as clients demand such low rates on all the tickets booked during these periods, which cannot work out,” said Karl Dantas, president of <keyword id="2566939" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Enterprising-Travel-Agents-Association">Enterprising Travel Agents Association</keyword>. 
(Image: Wikipedia)

Airfare War Starts Again: SpiceJet, Jet Airways & IndiGo Offer Lucrative Discounts This Diwali

The <keyword id="432202" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="domestic-air-traffic">domestic air traffic</keyword> grew for fifth consecutive month in February and as per the data by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the traffic went up over 20% on a year-on-year basis. 
 DGCA stated that in February, <keyword id="1446" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-airlines">Indian airlines</keyword> flew 7.4 million passengers as against 6 million passengers in the corresponding month of the last year, indicating a jump of 24.7%. 
 
A multiple factors backed this trend such as low fuel cost, most discounts by airlines and also increase in rail fares. 
 
It should be noted that the difference between the fares of rail (AC 2-tier) and air is in the range of Rs 700-800 on these key routes. 
 Meanwhile, <keyword id="6358032" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SpiceJet">SpiceJet</keyword> is showing impressive growth, better than <keyword id="6354706" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indigo">IndiGo</keyword>, as it has high load factor of 92.3% compared with IndiGo's 86%. 
 
SpiceJet's stock is also cheaper in valuation.

Here are reasons why domestic air traffic grew over 20%

<ul class="summary-list"><li>United, American, and Delta Air Lines are all doing away with change fees and select other optional fees.</li><li>United and American will also allow passengers to fly stand-by on earlier flights for free and offer other complimentary perks for elite status holders.</li><li>The US airline industry is still falling short of 1 million daily passengers with the summer only seeing a moderate increase in passengers compared to spring. </li></ul>Less than 24 hours after United <keyword id="44023" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="airlines">Airlines</keyword> announced that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/united-airlines-ends-most-ticket-change-fees-not-basic-economy-2020-8">it's eliminating change fees</a> for passengers, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines have followed suit. The country's two largest airlines each announced their latest attempts to win back pandemic-wary travelers within an hour of each other on Monday, marking the latest sign that the industry is struggling to return to normal following a <a href="https://www.tsa.gov/coronavirus/passenger-throughput">disastrous summer</a>.These airlines and many others started charging passengers who changed their plans in the early 2000s, part of a wave of ancillary fees for things like checking bags and priority boarding. The additional revenue from those add-ons is untaxed and can often be more lucrative than the fare itself.But with no end in sight to the pandemic that has decimated <keyword id="6354692" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Travel">travel</keyword> demand and put the entire <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/american-airlines-furloughs-layoffs-coronavirus-2020-8">industry in desperate financial straits</a>, airlines appear willing to sacrifice the most sacred of cash cows to win over those few folk willing to climb aboard. Each airline, of course, has its own particular mix of incentives. United and American, for example, are also allowing customers to change to earlier flights on a stand-by basis for free. Here's a breakdown of the changes each of the big three is making to its policies.<h2>United Airlines</h2><div type="image" title="United Airlines 777" height="3066" width="4088" msid="77862017" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://hub.united.com/2020-08-30-united-airlines-permanently-eliminates-change-fees-2647406401.html">United became the first of the big three airlines to permanently get rid of change fees on Sunday</a>, dropping the $200 charge for domestic flight changes that includes travel to Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Passengers with most fares can make unlimited changes to the ticket and only pay the fare difference each time. Basic economy will remain restrictive with United still not allowing changes to those with the fare but the airline's current travel waiver includes free changes for all tickets, basic economy and international included, booked until the end of the year.Members of United's MileagePlus frequent flyer program will also be able to cancel their award tickets and have their miles redeposited for free if they cancel at least 30 days from departure. Elite status holders will also be able get on an earlier flight to their destination, if there's a seat available. <h2>American Airlines</h2><div type="image" title="American Airlines Airbus A319" height="1665" width="2220" msid="77862021" hostid="261"></div>American is removing change fees for domestic and certain international flights on all fares except basic economy.. Travelers <keyword id="52392" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Flying">flying</keyword> domestically or between the US and Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean will no longer be subject to the $200 fee for domestic flights and up to $750 fee for international, according to its <a href="https://www.aa.com/i18n/customer-service/support/optional-service-fees.jsp#ticketing">fee schedule</a>. The airline is also allowing customers the option to fly stand-by on earlier flights regardless of the fare or destination book, whether it be international or domestic, without paying a fee beginning on October 1. The charge for doing so was previously $75 for domestic flights, according to the airline's <a href="https://www.aa.com/i18n/plan-travel/extras/same-day-travel.jsp">website</a>, with exceptions for international destinations.United is also making basic economy less egalitarian, giving elite status holders expanded benefits when booking the fare. The airline's top frequent flyers will receive complimentary same-day confirmed flight changes and upgrades to first class and premium seats in economy when available. In 2021, however, basic economy fares won't earn miles that can be used for accruing elite status. <h2>Delta Air Lines</h2><div type="image" title="Delta Air Lines Airbus A321" height="2000" width="2666" msid="77862023" hostid="261"></div>Delta <a href="https://news.delta.com/building-its-demonstrated-commitment-flexibility-customers-delta-eliminates-change-fees">announced</a> on Monday the removal change fees for travelers in all classes except for basic economy on domestic flights including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Customers formerly had to pay $200 to make changes to domestic tickets, according to the <a href="https://www.delta.com/us/en/change-cancel/change-flight">airline</a>, including those to and from US territories in the Caribbean.Basic economy or international fares will not be affected by the change, but Delta will allow free ticket changes for both under its existing waiver until the end of the year. The fare difference still applies when making a flight change and Delta has not said whether it will allow travelers to travel stand-by on earlier flights for free, as United and American are offering.

Delta and American ditch change fees in a new bid to lure back fliers, less than 24 hours after United started the trend

Mumbai, Apr 17 () A tour operators' grouping on Friday urged the government to ensure airlines refund money to domestic and international travellers whose tickets were booked for travel during the lockdown period.The nationwide lockdown to curb spreading of coronavirus infections has been extended till May 3. Initially, the lockdown, which began from May 25, was to end on April 14.The Indian Tour Operators' Association (IATO), which claims to represent around 1,700 members, also said that airfares accrued by domestic carriers from foreign travellers should also be refunded as their visas were cancelled by the government.The grouping's statement comes a day after the civil aviation ministry issued an advisory to airlines regarding refund of airfares.Commercial flights remain suspended till May 3 due to the lockdown.On Thursday, the ministry advised airlines to provide full refund within three weeks to passengers who want to cancel their tickets booked for domestic and international travel during the first lockdown period -- March 25-April 14. It was also applicable for bookings made for travel during the extended lockdown period, which is till May 3.Initially, carriers refused to make refund and passengers' money has been kept with them by creating a credit shell."IATO estimates about three crore jobs will be lost. The association was expecting some relief from the government in terms of refund of airfares but Thursday's announcement about asking the airlines to refund the fares booked only during the first lockdown has left the body completely disappointed," it said in the statement.Claiming that "crores of rupee" is lying with the domestic carriers on account of bookings made by the foreign travellers for local flights, the association said these these fares should be completely refunded as part of good business practice."This will not only send positive signal to the foreign travelers but will help the country get them back when the normal times return," it added.Similarly, the grouping said all domestic travelers who had booked before the lockdown and their travel date fell during the lockdown, should be given complete refund.However, the ministry has not mentioned about tickets that were booked prior to the lockdown and for travel during the lockdown period.Many airlines have announced resumption of services from May 4. Earlier, carriers took bookings for travel from April 15 at a time when there was no official word on whether there would extension of lockdown. An announcement of extending the lockdown till May 3 was made only on April 14.Against this backdrop, queries sent by to all private domestic airlines on whether they would refund customers in cash in the eventuality of another extension remained unanswered. IAS RAM BALBAL

Tour operators' association demand full refund on air tickets booked for travel during lockdown

<ul><li><keyword id="9875222" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="a-parliamentary-standing-committee" source="Orion">A Parliamentary Standing Committee</keyword> has taken note of the high air fares charged by some airline operators in the domestic sector.</li><li>The <keyword id="47865" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="committee" source="Orion">Committee</keyword> also pointed out the wrong information published by the private airlines on their websites, regarding the number of seats left in the flight and the prices of the tickets.</li></ul>New Delhi, A Parliamentary Standing Committee has taken note of the high air fares charged by some airline operators in the domestic sector, and held that they are misguiding the public and forcing passengers to pay more. The Committee also pointed out the wrong information published by the private airlines on their websites, regarding the number of seats left in the flight and the prices of the tickets. "The level of misinformation can be gauged from the fact that even after the last tickets have been sold, the same number of seats show on the website, as indicated before the tickets sale. This indicates that airline operators are misguiding the public and forcing passengers to pay more," the panel said in the Demand for Grants (2023-24) report of the <keyword id="58151" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="civil-aviation-ministry" source="Orion">Civil Aviation Ministry</keyword>. In view of the above, it recommended that the Ministry should formulate appropriate guidelines regarding rationalisation of fares and publishing the correct information on the website of the airlines. It also pointed out that 'Predatory Pricing' is being restored to by the domestic airlines sector. "A particular airline may sell its air tickets at such a low level, that other competitors cannot compete and are forced to exit the market. A company that does this will see initial losses, but eventually it benefits by driving competition out of the market and raising its prices again," said the report. The Committee desired to know whether aviation regulator, the <keyword id="6354787" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="dgca" source="Orion">DGCA</keyword> had at any point of time intervened to check the fares of air tickets. It also expressed concern at the fact that in the domestic sector, private airlines are charging different fares for the same sector, route and same direction of flights. This is specifically so for the northeastern region and hilly areas including Jammu &amp; Kashmir and Ladakh, where the prices of domestic sector tickets are, sometimes, even more than the international airline sector prices. The Committee took note of the fact that after the repeal of the Air Corporations Act, 1953, the airfare is market driven and depends on market fares, and is neither established nor regulated by the government. "It notes the DGCA's comments that the airfares were regulated for a fixed period during the Covid pandemic in compliance with <keyword id="1773277" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="aircraft-act" source="Orion">Aircraft Act</keyword>, 1934 and the regulation was withdrawn as the Covid pandemic abated and that airlines are free to fix reasonable tariffs under the Aircraft Rules, 1937, with regard to cost of operation, services, reasonable profit and generally prevailing tariff," said the report. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/how-is-gpt-4-different-from-chatgpt-and-what-makes-it-unique/articleshow/98688465.cms">How is GPT-4 different from ChatGPT, and what makes it unique?</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/googles-new-ai-features-for-docs-gmail-and-more-to-rival-microsofts-workspace-toolsheres-what-it-means/articleshow/98657324.cms">Google’s new AI features for Docs, Gmail, and more to rival Microsoft’s workspace tools—here’s what it means</a>

You Searched For "indian airlines fare domestic" and got 8 results

Soon, Rs 2500/hr flights. No fuel charges or tax added

BI India Bureau

GoAir announces 'Freedom Sale', offers 1 million seats to domestic travellers

IANS

Jet Airways isn’t the only one, 6 more global airlines have vanished

BI India Bureau

Airfare War Starts Again: SpiceJet, Jet Airways & IndiGo Offer Lucrative Discounts This Diwali

BI India Bureau

Here are reasons why domestic air traffic grew over 20%

BI India Bureau

Delta and American ditch change fees in a new bid to lure back fliers, less than 24 hours after United started the trend

Thomas Pallini

Tour operators' association demand full refund on air tickets booked for travel during lockdown

PTI

Airlines misguiding people, forcing passengers to pay more, says Parl Panel

IANS

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