DGCA pulls plug on opaque fares. Will KFA survive?

The country’s civil aviation regulator DGCA on Wednesday directed all airlines to immediately withdraw from the ‘opaque fares’ scheme under which travel portals offer discounted air tickets but do not reveal the name of the carrier till the payment is made by the customer.

[caption id=“attachment_259122” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Even passengers complained to web portals after opaque booking put them on cancelled Kingfisher flights. AFP”] [/caption]

Acting on complaints by Jet Airways, the Directorate General of Civil aviation said the super-saver scheme violates rules relating to transparency in display of fares and must be grounded immediately. In a notice to all Indian carriers, DGCA directed them “to immediately withdraw participation in any such scheme where the complete information about the carrier is not revealed upfront.”

Various travel portals like Makemytrip.com, yatra.com and goibibo.com have been offering cheaper tickets for various sectors since January, as long as the flyer was willing to let the portal withhold the airline’s name and exact flight timing till the payment was made. These low fares, up to Rs 1,500 less than regular fares, are marketed as super-saver offers by the portals.

But the situation only escalated when Jet Airways complained to the DGCA that the scheme was being used to further the interest of some airlines. terming this practice as a scam, the airline had asked the aviation regulator to curb this practice, which not only lacks transparency but is also harmful for passengers. Following the complaint, Makemytrip had removed Jet from its list of airlines whose seats were being offered under this super-saver offer.

Even passengers complained to web portals after opaque booking put them on cancelled Kingfisher flights. According to a report in Economic Times , Makemytrip.com had put up a disclaimer for passengers, saying that the fares were not for Kingfisher.

The notice by DGCA chief E K Bharat Bhushan said the regulator was aware “that airlines are participating in a special fare offered by travel portals namely ‘opaque fares’ where the identity of neither the carrier nor the flight details are revealed till the payment is through and ticketing done.” This, it said, violated provisions of the 1937 Aircraft Rules and other circulars relating to transparency in the display of air fares.

DGCA said it was essential to ensure absolute transparency in display of airfares by airlines and agents in order to help the end-user make an informed choice.

According to various reports, officials of some leading travel portals said the airlines themselves had evolved the scheme. Terming it as a win-win model for both airlines and customers, they said besides cheap fares, it also helped in selling maximum flight seats which were a perishable commodity.

But what does this directive mean for debt-laden Kingfisher Airlines, which in a bid to woo more passengers to buy its tickets offered to sell its tickets below market prices? The airline’s attempt to cash in on this mode while it is cancelling its series of flights is in a way deceiving its customers, as it has been calling off its flights without prior notice and also not issuing refunds to its customers.