Airlines Agree To Call Off Fare War Feb 14

A meeting of the board of airline representatives in Delhi yesterday set February 14 as the deadline for ending the present spate of discount schemes. The board also set April 5 as the uniform cut-off date for outbound travel on tickets booked under the discount schemes for international flights, airline sources said yesterday.

The deadline and cut-off date have been set keeping in view the deadlines announced by various carriers, sources added. The fare war was triggered by British Airways, which announ-ced a 40 per cent discount on tickets on January 20. This prompted competitive cuts by Air India, KLM-Northwest, Lufthansa and Air France, among others, and a wave of protests from travel agents.

 

Although BA said the fare cuts would be compensated by an increase in passenger traffic, other airlines were less optimistic and argued the fare war would translate into revenue losses.

The growing criticism of BA eventually forced a section of the board of airline representatives to seek an emergency meeting to thrash out the issue.

Earlier, the directorate-general of civil aviation too had intervened in the fare war following lobbying by several airlines. DGCA sources said the airlines had formed a kind of cartel opposing the fare cuts.

DGCA officials are reported to have asked BA to end its discount scheme after January 31. Airlines are required to file their schedules and prices with the DGCA and the civil aviation regulator has the right to reject the schedule.