Pune: Air travellers, particularly those purchasing economy class tickets, had expected some relief from the recent goods and services tax (GST) rate revision by Central govt. But to their disappointment, the GST for economy class has remained unchanged at 5%, while GST for premium economy and business class tickets has gone up from 12 to 18%, with changes taking effect from Sept 22. Now, fares shown by airlines for festive season bookings continue to show soaring costs —despite the Union civil aviation ministry’s oft-repeated appeals to airlines to curb airfares to affordable levels during festival time. For instance, one-way economy class airfare on a Pune-Patna flight currently costs Rs18,000 during Diwali and Rs21,000 during the Chhath festival; similarly, a Pune-Kolkata one-way flight ticket costs Rs17,000 each during Durga Puja and Diwali. Further, although multiple airlines operate flights on the Pune-Delhi route, an economy class ticket costs Rs13,000 one-way during Diwali. Dileep Mehsar, a Delhi resident who works in Pune, was aghast. “I think soon we won’t be able to afford flying as a family anywhere. My family has five members, and while a round trip to Delhi during Diwali costs Rs1.02 lakh in total, one-way fare rests at Rs13,500 per person. This is despite the fact that Pune has more than 22 direct flights to Delhi. I also read that Centre revised the GST for hotel tariffs up to Rs7,500 from 12% to 5%. However, that won’t help us immediately, as during Diwali almost everyone goes home and they don’t usually stay in hotels,” the Nigdi resident and working professional told TOI. Hinjewadi resident Anirvvan Sinha, who was planning to go to Kolkata during Durga Puja, said, “I had hoped Centre would reduce the 5% GST for economy class tickets, but that hasn’t happened. For a family of four, going home during this festival again seems almost impossible. Govt needed to look at rationalising airfares, but they ignored it.” Travel companies and associations agreed that the price factor would pinch flyers. “The new GST regime can benefit travellers who plan to stay in hotels during Diwali, but it might not directly impact those going home,” said Mehboob Shaikh, central and south Maharashtra chapter president of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), adding, “Also, there is no clarity from govt as no official circular has been sent to the hotel and travel industry so far. Unless this happens, we cannot predict how helpful it will be in the long run.” Nilesh Bhansali, president of the Travel Agents Association of Pune (TAAP), agreed. “Airfares will be high this festive season. As far as hotel tariffs are concerned, the benefit will only happen if the hotels don’t increase their base charges. Earlier, many hotels kept their final base prices with taxes (increased base prices) unchanged and didn’t pass the benefit to customers. Then there are hotels that still deal in cash, so the tax cut might never reach the customers,” he said. During earlier talks, both Union civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu and MoS civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol had said that govt has kept an eye on airfare spikes. “But do the airlines pay any heed to govt? Earlier this year, Centre interfered, leading to a drop in soaring airfares to Prayagraj. Now, right before Diwali, a one-way fare to Prayagraj from Pune rests at Rs17,000 again,” pointed out Alok Tripathy, a resident of Handewadi. Ajit Kumar Chaubey, a Baner resident and senior banking professional who has almost cancelled his travel to Patna during Chhath, told TOI, “Last year, govt assured that talks with airlines were happening regularly regarding the fare hike during the festive season. But the same doesn’t reflect on ground.”
