Delhi High Court refuses to cap airline fares; says auto-rickshaw fares often higher than airfare

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday remarked that the airline industry today is well-regulated and it is not appropriate for the Court to pass any directions for capping of airfares. .A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora disposed of two petitions seeking regulation of the pricing of plane tickets.The Bench remarked that stray incidents will not require the court to entertain public interest litigations (PILs) on the issue and bring the entire sector under any new regulation.“Market forces will decide the pricing [of air tickets]. The industry is doing very well today. You look at any airline flying today, it is a highly competitive industry… An auto rickshaw fare is more than the airline fare today,” the Bench orally remarked.The Bench stressed that it will not pass any directions and will dispose of the PILs by way of a detailed order..The petitions were filed by advocate Amit Sahni and one Bejon Kumar Misra. They sought directions to cap airfares across the country so that customers are not “fleeced arbitrarily” by airlines.Sahni requested the Court to frame guidelines and prevent the airline companies from charging arbitrarily, irrationally and exorbitantly for flights.Meanwhile, Misra asked the Court to cap the prices of air tickets in public interest. He also moved an application demanding that the passengers affected by the suspension of Jet Airways flights receive their refunds and adequate compensation..When the Court took up the matter today, advocate Anjana Gosain appeared for the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and said that the authority had filed a detailed affidavit in the matter.Gosain said that the fares depend on the routes as well as availability of the planes. She added that at times, there are three passengers in the planes and yet they fly.The Court considered the submissions and said it will dispose of the PILs.