Air travel to be cheaper, fuel surcharge cut by up to Rs 400

New Delhi, Dec 6 (PTI) Bringing good news for air
travellers just ahead of Christmas and New Year, major
airlines in India including Kingfisher, Jet Airways, Air India
and Indigo have reduced fuel surcharge on all domestic
flights, which will result in airfares dropping by up to Rs
400.

The reduction follows successive cuts in aviation turbine
fuel prices by oil marketing companies.

Travel by Kingfisher Red (formerly Air Deccan) will cost
Rs 1,950 for distances up to 750 km, Rs 300 less than the Rs
Rs 2,250 earlier. Distances over 750 km will cost Rs 2,700, Rs
200 less than the Rs 2,900 earlier.

For the full-service carrier, Kingfisher, flights up to
750 km will cost Rs 1,950, Rs 400 less than the Rs 2,350
earlier. Fares for travelling more than 750 km will be down to
Rs 2,700 from Rs 3,100.

The move followed an announcement by Jet Airways
Friday, which cut fuel surcharge by Rs 400 on all domestic
sectors, together with a similar reduction on its low-cost
entity JetLite. The applicable fuel surcharge henceforth is Rs
1,950 for flights on distances less than 750 km and Rs 2,700
beyond that.

State-owned carrier Air India had in the beginning of the
month said it would cut fuel surcharge by Rs 400 on all
domestic flights.
Low-cost carrier IndiGo also announced a cut of Rs 400 in
fuel surcharge on all domestic routes effective today.

"Effective December 6, IndiGo has reduced its fuel
surcharge to match that of Air India, Jet Airways and
JetLite," IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh told PTI here.

Other low-cost airlines like SpiceJet were, however,
non-committal on the reduction.

The fuel surcharge reduction by carriers follows the
slashing of ATF prices by Rs 2,480 per kilolitre, effective
December 1 -- the sixth such cut since August this year.

Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel had a while ago
appealed to all major airlines to make air travel affordable
as fuel prices had come down substantially.

Fuel cost constitutes between 40 and 50 percent of the
total operational cost of an airline in India. PTI DG
DEP
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