New Delhi: As air travellers from Haryana helplessly watched commercial airlines overcharge, the government today said it was closely monitoring the situation even though airfares are "globally unregulated".
Dr Mahesh Sharma, the junior minister of aviation, told NDTV, "Globally, airfares are not regulated. We have requested the airlines to increase flights and bring down the fares. We are watching the fares carefully."
Mr Sharma, who's also a member of the Narendra Modi government's high powered committee that has been set up to find a solution to the Jat agitation, reminded the airlines that Prime Minister had earlier expressed his "concern" about "predatory pricing".
An economy ticket on the Delhi-Chandigarh route that used to cost Rs 4,000 had shot up by 10 times. There were reports that a business class ticket between Chandigarh and Mumbai had cost nearly Rs 1 lakh -- more than double the normal fare.
On Sunday, the government stepped in and instructed airlines to mount additional capacity to keep air fares under control.
Responding to charges of overcharging, a statement from Jet Airways said: "The higher fares that are referred on third party travel portals are the combination of fares over multi-stop flights.
The airline also said it was "working with third party travel portals to not show such roundabout itineraries with last available Premiere cabin seats".
Dr Mahesh Sharma, the junior minister of aviation, told NDTV, "Globally, airfares are not regulated. We have requested the airlines to increase flights and bring down the fares. We are watching the fares carefully."
Mr Sharma, who's also a member of the Narendra Modi government's high powered committee that has been set up to find a solution to the Jat agitation, reminded the airlines that Prime Minister had earlier expressed his "concern" about "predatory pricing".
An economy ticket on the Delhi-Chandigarh route that used to cost Rs 4,000 had shot up by 10 times. There were reports that a business class ticket between Chandigarh and Mumbai had cost nearly Rs 1 lakh -- more than double the normal fare.
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On Sunday, the government stepped in and instructed airlines to mount additional capacity to keep air fares under control.
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Responding to charges of overcharging, a statement from Jet Airways said: "The higher fares that are referred on third party travel portals are the combination of fares over multi-stop flights.
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The airline also said it was "working with third party travel portals to not show such roundabout itineraries with last available Premiere cabin seats".
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