PHUKET: The Provincial Public-Private Joint Economic Development Committee in Phuket has warned airlines not to sell overpriced tickets to tourists who wish to travel to the resort island, especially during long holidays.
The committee said on Saturday it will try to intervene in response to tourist complaints about rising fares, despite finding evidence the fares are now below the standard benchmarks.
According to Phuket Vice Governor, Amnuay Pinsuwan, who acted as the joint committee's chairman, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand's (CAAT) airfare control measures divide the flight routes into two types due to the benchmark fares.
Phuket is classified as having a rate limitation for full-service charging and low-cost carrier charging.
According to the CAAT's notice, full-service flight operators can passengers no more than 13 baht per kilometre for seats with a baggage allowance of 20 kilogrammes or less, and that sum must also include onboard foods and drinks.
Meanwhile, carriers that do not provide these services are considered low-cost, and the authority requires them to charge no more than 9.40 baht per kilometre.
This means that for flights to Phuket, the airline should charge passengers no more than 9,074 baht per flight for a full-service flight or no more than 6,561 baht per flight for a low-cost carrier, said Mr Amnuay.
He said overpriced airfares during the New Year's Festival and Valentine's Day, while offputting to travellers, actually arose from high demand that is often encountered during the tourist high season.
This means that the cost of flying to the island will rise again during the long holiday for Maka Bucha Day and Songkran when the ticket prices are expected to reach 4,000 to 5,000 baht per seat, he added.
Meanwhile, Mr Amnuay estimated the average ticket price for this time of year will cost tourists at least 2,800–3,000 baht based on the price of a flight departing on March 11 and 12.
However, to prevent illicit ticket pricing, CAAT required every carrier to publish the fare rates report every month and every trimester and sent them a notice on airfare pricing.
Mr Amnuay added that those in authority deemed responsible for price gouging on popular routes would face a penalty of at least six months in jail and be fined up to 20,000 baht, according to the aviation law.
