Airfares show upward spiral

Airlines term crude prices unsustainable

 Low cost carrier, SpiceJet has raised the fares by a couple of hundred rupees and is reviewing it on a daily basis while Kingfisher has also sufficiently hiked the fuel surcharge.
Terming the present crude prices as “unsustainable” for airlines’ survival, SpiceJet CEO Neil Raymond Mills said some of the cost will have to be passed on to the consumer and some of it will have to be borne on our own, we’ll have to manage it on a day-to-day basis.

“Pricing (of tickets) is dynamic. It’s changing everyday, it is not absolute or same across the board. At current levels of crude, airfares must be hiked by Rs 600-700 to break even,” he told reporters on sidelines of “India Aviation Meet “ on ‘Creating an Economically Viable, Sustainable and Inclusive Aviation Sector’ by CII. Kingfisher airlines has also sufficiently raised fuel surcharge to offset some of burden increased ATF prices.“Kingfisher Airlines has sufficiently raised fuel surcharge to meet rising crude expenses,” Chairman Vijay Mallya said.
Full service carrier, Jet Airways has also “adjusted” fuel surcharge to absorb the impact of rising ATF prices.

All the airlines have asked the government to reduce the sales tax on ATF, which at times are as high as 30 per cent.