Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Airlines hike fares

Thiruvananthapuram: The increase in air fares from the State capital to various domestic and international destinations has come in as a big jolt for travellers.

Travellers are bearing the brunt as high fares are in place from Thiruvananthapuram to destinations in West Asia and to Kochi, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Airline sources cited the announcement of flight operations by Bahrain Air from Kochi and the commencement of Ras Al Khaima (RAK) Airlines from Karipur as the reasons for the high fares.

Both the airlines are offering a basic low fare of Rs.5300 to Dubai. Saudi Airlines, Jet Airways, Bahrain Air, RAK Airlines and Jazzera Airways, the low cost carrier of Kuwait, are not operating from Thiruvananthapuram.

The operating airlines collect different fares in the same sector taking advantage of the fuel surcharge that goes up correspondingly with the spiralling price of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF).

The one-way fare in Air India (AI) and Air India Express flights to destinations in West Asia are the cheapest among the operating airlines. The return fares of AI on various sectors in West Asia are on the higher side.

In the Thiruvananthapuram - Dubai - Thiruvananthapuram sector, the lowest return fare of Emirates (valid for three months) is Rs.13,875 including taxes.

The lowest return fare offered by Air India in the sector is Rs.24,100. The lowest return fare available in Air India Express flights in the sector during August is Rs.16,456.

The fares in the Thiruvananthapuram - Kochi sector have also been hiked. Air India Express was charging Rs.1,099 in the sector when Deccan was charging Rs.900. With Deccan withdrawing flight operations from the sector, AI is now charging Rs.2,274.

The lowest fare from Thiruvananthapuram to Mumbai is Rs.2,574. The fare in the Thiruvananthapuram - New Delhi sector has also gone up from Rs. 4,000 to Rs.7,755.

Low-cost carrier Deccan and Jet Lite are not operating from Thiruvananthapuram to New Delhi. Only Jet Airways and AI are operating flights in the sector. The fares offered by Jet are higher than AI fares.

The fares in the national carrier from Kochi to Chennai, Bangalore and New Delhi are cheaper by 40 per cent when compared to the fares to these destinations from the State capital, sources claimed. The lowest fare in the Kochi - New Delhi sector in Jet Lite is Rs.4200.

The fare structure of AI is different and the one-way fare from the capital to Dubai is the cheapest at Rs.8,785. The fare to Sharjah is Rs.8,385.

Air India Express maintains the cheapest one-way fare from Thiruvananthapuram to Sharjah, Muscat, Dubai, Abu Dhabi.

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