NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court Wednesday directed the airlines not to levy any form of transaction fee on passengers, a move that could bring down the cost of air fares. The court has also ordered the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to examine the tariff structure of the airlines in view of the wide range of basic fares. The airlines are violating agreed-upon structure of pricing of tickets by charging unsanctioned taxes and fees, the Supreme Court said. With the suspension of Kingfisher Airlines, other airlines have sought to cash in on the situation and have hiked the prices accordingly. Fair trade regulator Competition Commission said earlier that suspension of flights by crisis-hit Kingfisher Airlines may be a possible reason for soaring airfares, although there is no evidence as yet of any price cartelisation among the carriers. “If there was indeed a cartel, which is formed to make disproportionately high profits, the airlines would not have been making losses. But, the fact is none of them is making profits, so you cannot have a cartel,” Competition Commission of India (CCI) Chairman Ashok Chawla said. Noting that the “sensitive” matter of carriers forming a possible cartel to push up airfares has been probed by CCI more than once in the past, Chawla said that he is open to looking into the matter again if there is something to show anti-competitive practices. “I don't want to prejudge and if there is something we will look into it. At the moment, there does not seem to be anything (related to cartelisation),” he said. Kingfisher had to suspend its entire operations in October after many months of frequent disruptions. The other carriers present in the market include state-run Air India and private players like IndiGo, Go Air, Jet Airways and SpiceJet. – Agencies
