Go First Crisis: DGCA Data Reveals Average Airfare On Domestic Routes Decline

As per the data compiled by the DGCA's Tariff Monitoring Unit, the average airfares on the Delhi-Mumbai route dropped 74 per cent on June 29 compared to June 6.

The Go First crisis has not only impacted the domestic airline's operations, as the airline has grounded all its aircrafts since last 2 months, but impacted the overall average price of air tickets on various routes in India. On the routes where Go First airline was operating its flights, the sudden grounding of its entire fleet has put an additional load on the other air carriers on those routes, including Delhi-Mumbai, the busiest route in the country. The airfare has declined on this route as well, according to an analysis based on the data compiled by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Among 10 routes, the average airfares on the Delhi-Mumbai route dropped 74 per cent on June 29 compared to June 6, as per the data compiled by the DGCA's Tariff Monitoring Unit. During the same period, the decline was 70 per cent on the Delhi-Pune route, 72 per cent on the Delhi-Ahmedabad route and 36 per cent on the Delhi-Srinagar route, reported ANI. However, ticket prices rose on some routes during the comparative period.

The average fares on Mumbai-Delhi and Pune-Delhi routes rose 23 per cent and 17 per cent. Earlier this month, airfares on various routes had surged, following which Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had asked representatives of airlines to self-regulate the ticket prices as well as put in place a mechanism to ensure reasonable pricing.

Airfares are not regulated in the country, and broadly, they depend on the supply-demand situation. On June 12, Scindia said fares have been reduced by up to 60 per cent and are likely to decline further on certain routes that had seen an increase in fares. The DGCA is also closely monitoring the situation.