Air India likely to announce fare cuts in Jan first week

Air India could soon bring good news for air travellers by announcing a cut in base fares on its domestic routes from the middle of January, official sources said here.

Though its private competitor Kingfisher Airlines has declared that it would reduce fares only after the government decides to include jet fuel in the list of 'Declared Goods', Jet Airways could follow suit, they said.

Sources said the Commercial Department of Air India was already working on reducing the fares and could make an announcement in the first week of January for slashing the fare prices effective from the middle of the month when the peak travel season comes to an end.

Besides Air India, Kingfisher, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and Indigo has already reduced fuel surcharge on all domestic flights, resulting in the airfares dropping by up to Rs 400. The reduction followed successive cuts in aviation turbine fuel prices by oil marketing companies.

In another development, the Civil Aviation Ministry has asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to crack its whip on domestic airlines continuing with the congestion surcharge of Rs 150, despite substantial fall air traffic congestion over major airports like Delhi and Mumbai, the sources said.

Many airlines also club these surcharges as 'taxes', though the only tax component in a ticket was the Passenger Service Fee (PSF) of Rs 225, they said, adding that the airlines have been instructed to show the surcharge and taxes separately.