New Delhi: The joy of flying on cheap tickets has lasted exactly 40 days. Appearing to act as a cartel, domestic airlines have simultaneously withdrawn low fares – reintroduced from January 1 after months of declining jet fuel prices – and now offer only higher fare tickets. On some routes, fares have even been hiked.

The overall impact is that ticket prices have risen by anywhere from Rs 1,200 to Rs 5,000. Fares are now back to where they were in December 2008, or even higher, while fuel prices have dropped to summer 2005 levels. Flying by a low-cost carrier from Delhi to Mumbai, for example, will now set passengers back by Rs 5,000, compared to Rs Rs 2,200 last month. Full-service carriers’ fares for this route have risen from a range of Rs 3,100-3,600 to Rs 6,100-7,100. Special basic fares of Re 1 or Rs 99 are now history.

 

Air India, which had taken the lead in cutting fares, has also hiked prices.

 

UP IN THE AIR

Mumbai-Delhi Route

 

                        

                                 Figures in Rs