The airfare from Kerala to West Asia is among the expensive ones to that region from India, especially during the festival and vacation seasons.
A comparison of airfares from the capital of Kerala with those from Mumbai reveals that those who take a flight to West Asia from Mumbai need to pay only less than half of the airfare from Thiruvananthapuram on September 1 — the time when the demand for tickets to West Asia soars, coinciding with the reopening of schools there after the summer vacation.
Demand-based pricing
Since the airlines follow a demand-based pricing system, they would charge twice or thrice the fare on the same flight just a week before or after. A passenger from the State will have to pay an average price between ₹40,000 and ₹75,000 for an economy class ticket on a budget airline or full-service airline just after the Onam vacation. Whereas the same ticket — either a direct flight or a flight with a brief stopover in another city — from Mumbai is available at a price range of ₹13,000- ₹25,000. Interestingly, airfares to Kerala from major West Asian destinations during the same period are available at a price range of ₹9,000 to ₹15,000.
Fare to Kerala low
“This is like leaving the passengers at the mercy of airline aggregators,” said K.V. Muralidharan, president, Kerala Association of Travel Agents. Mumbai is not an isolated case. The airfares to West Asia from other major north Indian cities too are less when compared to those from airports in Kerala, said Mr. Muralidharan. “The low return airfare to Kerala reveals that the airlines can operate at base fare also. We need to exert more pressure on the Centre to stop the fleecing of passengers by the airlines,” he said
Ministry’s response
However, in reply to repeated questions by MPs in Parliament, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said there was no proposal at present to alter the existing regulatory framework on airfares. According to the MoCA, airfares are neither established nor regulated by the Centre. Airlines are free to charge reasonable fares as per their operational viability subject to compliance with Rule 135 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937. The ticket prices are fixed by the airlines, keeping in mind the market, demand, seasonality, and other market forces, apart from distance of route.
