Gulf NRIs to pay more for Air India tickets in summer

National airlines jack up fares as summer rush fuels demand

BY A CORRESPONDENT
April 4, 2006

Airlines flying from the Gulf to India have sharply hiked their summer ticket fares, with demand going up. Both Air India and Indian Airlines have jacked up their fares, citing the law of demand and supply.

NRIs in the Gulf have been demanding that Air India reduce fares for quite some time. Unlike NRIs settled in the North America and Europe, most of the Gulf NRIs are low-wage earning workers, who come home every year. For them, the fare hike has come as a setback. Flight tickets to India now cost 30% more than what it was a month back. It is expected to rise by another 30% in July. Even the entry of Air India Express has not benefited the Gulf NRIs much.

A Khaleej Times report quoted an Indian Airlines official as saying that the airline has tried to reduce fares by starting apex schemes.

Passengers in the Gulf-India sector allege that the national airlines are trying to fleece them as demand rises. Air India regularly raises fares in the Gulf sector when the demand peaks.

Recently, the Indian government shot down a proposal by the Kerala government to start a low-budget airline which will fly to the Gulf to serve the low-income earning NRIs there. The Centre cited the five-year domestic experience rule to spike the proposal. Kerala government officials feel that Air India, which dominates the Gulf sector lobbied the civil aviation ministry to upset the Kerala plan.