SpiceJet hikes flight fares; more Kingfisher-like fates on cards?

Mumbai, Sept 4: People in India, who are planning to fly during upcoming festive season, may face trouble as flight fares have been hiked in the country. While

and Jet Airways are expected to raise fares shortly,

has already hiked its fares.

The Low-cost carrier (LCC) SpiceJet increased both spot and advance purchase fares from Tuesday, Sept 3 by over 25 per cent. Increasing from Rs 6,000-7,000 range, spot booking fares of Mumbai-Delhi SpiceJet flights jumped to Rs 10,000.

Media reports quoted one official as saying, "Raising fares in the ongoing lean season does not make sense but we have reached a point when it is no longer possible for airlines to absorb the latest jet fuel price hike. Not passing on the burden to fliers will now mean a certain Kingfisher-like fate for airlines."

Vijay Mallya owned Kingfisher Airlines have been grounded since Oct 2012. Mallya recently has blamed almost everyone, including engine suppliers, employees, banks and tax authorities, for grounding of the carrier.

a certain Kingfisher-like fate for airlines

The latest development in the aviation sector was a result of increasing aviation turbine fuel (ATF) by 7 per cent on the weekend and making it the costliest ever in the country. The July-September quarter saw a 22 per cent hike in ATF prices after successive increases.

One aviation ministry official was quoted as saying, "Airlines have no option but to hike fares. This is a serious issue. Domestic air traffic was slowly picking up after many months of decline and now higher fares will again lead to fall in traffic. The ATF issue needs to be sorted out."

OneIndia News