Rs 2500 For Premium Economy Class Air Tickets? Lower Fare Limits Applicable For Premium Seats

Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has said that a lower fare cap will be applied to the premium economy class seats of domestic flights. 

Read on to know more about the fare caps on domestic flights…

Prices of the Economy Seats of Domestic Flights Fixed!

On May 21, MoCA had fixed upper and lower limits on economy seats of domestic flights. This was valid till August 24 but now has been extended till November 24.

According to revised order by MoCA dated October 5, the upper limit won’t be applicable for premium economy seats. 

The order stated, “The fares indicated… are not applicable for business class and premium economy class. However, in premium economy class, the lower fare band would be applicable.”

The limits were fixed through seven bands of ticket pricing based on flight duration. 

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial condition of airlines is bad. The aim of this initiative was –

1. Ensuring passengers were not charged beyond a certain limit and
2. Ensuring no predatory pricing among the airlines as their financial condition was bad due to the pandemic.

The Pricing Structure!

The seven bands classified on the basis of a flight duration were 40-60 minutes, 60-90 minutes, 90-120 minutes, 120-150 minutes, 150-180 minutes, and 180-210 minutes.

As per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) the lower and upper limits for these bands are: 

1. For flight duration of 40-60 minutes: Rs 2,500-Rs 7,500; 
2. For flight duration of 60-90 minutes: Rs 3,000-Rs 9,000; 
3. For flight duration of 90-120 minutes: Rs 3,500-Rs 10,000; 
4. For flight duration of 120-150 minutes: Rs 4,500-Rs 13,000; 
5. For flight duration of 150-180 minutes:Rs 5,500-Rs 15,700 and 
6. For flight duration of 180-210 minutes: Rs 6,500-Rs 18,600.

The aviation ministry had clarified that each airline would set at least 40% of its tickets on a domestic flight at prices lower than the midpoint between the lower limit and upper limit