With domestic airline carriers once again deciding to hike ticket prices on the back of rising aviation turbine fuel (ATF) costs, Indian travellers will face the uneasy prospect of having to spend 30-40 per cent more on air tickets this summer, compared to the same period last year. The biggest component contributing to this steep rise is the fuel surcharge, which has jumped 125 per cent as compared to May last year.

With oil companies hiking jet fuel prices by around 10 per cent yesterday, airlines like Jet Airways had decided to bite the bullet and hike the critical ATF surcharge component on short haul flights from Rs 1,800 currently to Rs 1,950 a ticket, and on long haul routes from Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,350 a ticket. The average surcharge stood at just Rs 900 in May 2007.

Speaking to The Indian Express today, low cost carrier SpiceJet also said it would hike jet fuel surcharges by a similar amount. “We have decided to hike our surcharge by Rs 150 a ticket for short-haul flights and Rs 300 a ticket for long-haul routes,” said SpiceJet chief commercial officer Samyukth Sridharan. “With this hike, our prices have jumped almost 35-40 per cent over the average fare at the same time last year.”

In May last year, the average price for a Mumbai-Delhi flight by low-cost carrier SpiceJet was roughly Rs 2,900. In the same month this year, the carrier’s average fare on the same route is around Rs 3,800-3,900. While base fares have remained constant or even declined in many cases, the blow has been dealt by fuel surcharges, which have straightaway added Rs 1,000 to the total ticket cost.

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