The diktat from the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation on fares seems to have worked with airlines charging more realistic rates.
Updates on travel portals such as Yatra, Cleartrip and Makemytrip show that fares have fallen from levels of Rs 9,500 to Rs 2,500 and thereabouts.
The DGCA had, on Thursday, issued a circular asking airlines to go back to the previous week’s fares following reports that they had gone up to levels of Rs 21,000.
However, Ms Bhawana Agarwal, Head of Air Business, Yatra.com told Business Line that fares had fallen with the Jet Airways ticket inventory back in the system. Though the airline opened bookings on Friday for September 12 (after a three-day gap), agents were apprehensive about booking tickets for the next week or so.
“As of now there is no clarity on the impasse between the management and pilots. When it ends, it will take at least a couple of days for operations to reach normalcy. We are, therefore, not taking any chances with our customers. We are cancelling tickets with bookings for Saturday or Sunday and putting them on other flights,” said Mr Pradip Lulla, Acting President of Travel Agents Federation of India.
According to him, Jet’s international operations were smooth with the exception of shorter Gulf routes. Expatriate pilots, who account for 20 per cent of the workforce of 1,000 pilots, have been deployed to fly long-haul routes.
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