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International air fares are set to go up 5-15 per cent on the back of hikes in several charges.
The major European and American airlines, including KLM, Alitalia, Lufthansa and Swiss Air Lines, are set to announce a 5 per cent increase in fares from March 16.
Security charges -- the fee levied by airports on airlines -- have seen an increase from $12 per ticket to $18. The impact of these factors will push up air fares by around 15 per cent.
Alitalia has announced a 5 per cent increase in fares with effect from March 16, resulting in the Mumbai-Milan fare jumping to around Rs 35,000.
Major international airlines operating in India have also finalised capacity reductions, which will be effective from April 1.
As a result, 800-1,000 fewer seats will be available during a week, primarily on west-bound flights.
KLM and Delta Airlines are looking to reduce capacity by deploying smaller aircraft. Instead of a B747 (a 350-seater aircraft), KLM plans to operate a smaller DC-10, and Delta is planning to replace its MDL11 aircraft with B767s.
Alitalia is withdrawing one of its aircraft. "The aircraft being withdrawn from the India route will be more profitably deployed in another sector," an Alitalia executive said.
Alitalia and Singapore Airlines are contemplating a cut in the number of flights to India.
Singapore Airlines has decided to discontinue its twice-a-week Singapore-Mumbai-Manchester flight, and Alitalia will operate six flights a week out of India instead of seven, with effect from April 1.
"We are delinking our services to Manchester from Mumbai. We want to be in a better position to cater to the increasing demand in the Mumbai-Singapore-Mumbai sector," a Singapore Airlines executive pointed out.
Singapore Airlines operates seven flights a week between Mumbai and Singapore, including two flights to Manchester.
It will, however, continue to fly seven times a week between Singapore and Mumbai.
Soaring fare