“We are doing a full analysis on these routes and we will speak to our airlines to make sure that fares are within a certain level. We will try our best but it’s an issue created by an unforeseen demand-supply imbalance,” he said on Thursday.
For instance, Delhi-Leh return fares had touched Rs 52,000 — as opposed to Rs 52,000 for Delhi-Paris return — some days back in this peak demand season. Scindia identified airports like Srinagar and Puneas being the most affected, with Ahmedabad also hit slightly, for this reason.
“Civil aviation is a deregulated sector. There is no regulator for airfare pricing… There are two dynamics at play today. Seasonal travel periods of crests and troughs that (determine) pricing based on demand. (And) we are dealing with an unusual situation. The sector you talked about used to be serviced by Go First which has applied for NLCT. So there has been a pullback on the 315 routes they were operating on. So there is excess demand on those routes, though we have given those routes to other airlines,” he said.
Scindia pointed out the “vicissitudes” the civil aviation sector has seen, with no passengers and all planes being on ground three years ago to today when there are not enough planes given the travel demand. The reason for inadequate planes is the supply chain issues being faced by aircraft and engine makers like Boeing, Airbus and P&W.
“They are not able to meet the demand for planes, engines. One of the reasons for the current situation is the supply chain issue being faced by PW… I find it rather unpalatable that an airline with a fleet of 58 to 60 has 50% of its planes grounded due to unserviceable (PW) engines... Ironically most of the aircraft on ground (due to engine issues) belong to one manufacturer (PW). That is an issue of concern. We have spoken to that engine manufacturer that India is not a country where we can afford to have our planes on ground especially looking at the demand numbers,” the minister said.
Asked if he felt Go First will fly again, Scindia said: “We had written to the them in the third week of May, seeking their restructuring plans so that we could evaluate the same. They came back with something. We examined the same and identified some loopholes, what they need to work on. Their reply is awaited,” he said.
Govt looking into airfare surge; there are not enough planes given travel demand: Aviation minister Scind - Indiatimes.com
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