The strike by Jet Airways pilots seems to have provided other airlines an opportunity to fleece the passengers. On Wednesday, many at city airport alleged that they were charged a fare much higher than that in normal days.
DNA talked to several passengers at the airport on Wednesday and majority of them complained of unfair practice by airlines, such as GoAir and Spice Jet, which reportedly charged between Rs9,000 and Rs11,000 for Ahmedabad-Mumbai ticket, while the normal fare is Rs1,800. However, the airlines maintained that the increase in the price was mainly because of the high demand. Passengers were far from happy and charged the airlines with harassing the passengers.
"I came from Mumbai on Tuesday evening along with a colleague. My Jet Airways flight was scheduled to depart from Mumbai at 12:55 but it was cancelled. The airline did not even inform us in time. We had to wait till 7:30 in evening when we finally landed in Ahmedabad," said Amulyadhan Raut, a senior investment banker. Raut and his colleague had to board two different flights and reached Ahmedabad separately. Raut said that he was taken for a ride while buying the return tickets.
"On Wednesday morning, we tried to get GoAir tickets. At that time, the fare was usual, around Rs2,000 for a ticket. The site, however, got blocked and we could not confirm our tickets. At 2 in the afternoon, we got a message that our tickets have been confirmed and the amount was Rs13,000 for two tickets," he said.
Similarly, Darshan Thakore, a businessman, faced problem when he approached the Spice Jet counter to book a ticket for Mumbai. He was shocked to hear that the ticket would cost over Rs11,000. Thakore decided to travel by train. "Prices are directly proportional to increasing load factors and proximity to flight departure time. Competitive pricing is also a consideration," said GoAir spokesperson while talking to DNA.
