INDIAN AIRLINES has once again hiked its prices.

This is the ninth time in three short years that the Indian Frontline Carrier hiked its fares and so unfairly!

INDIAN AIRLINES has proposed a 14 per cent hike on short-haul sectors up to 700 km, and 10.5 per cent on long routes above 700 km which covers most of the trunk routes. This in effect means the worst affected would be passengers serviced by IA subsidiary, Alliance Air. Though operations in most part of the North-Eastern region fell in the short-haul sector, IA decided not to increase the fares there beyond 10.5 per cent, considering the special geo- social conditions of the region.In actual terms, this means that a one-way ticket from Bombay to Delhi will cost Rs. 4,544.81, as against the earlier Rs. 4,175. Similarly, the fare between Delhi-Bangalore would be Rs. 6,815 instead of the existing Rs. 6,255; Delhi-Calcutta would be Rs. 5,276 instead of the present Rs. 4,845; and Delhi-Madras would be Rs. 6,869, as against the existing Rs. 6,305. Mercifully, the Internal Air Travel Tax (IATT) and Passenger Service Fee (PSF) have not been changed.The increase in dollar fares will be effective from a date to be announced later, since these tickets are sold sufficiently in advance and adequate notice has to be given to tour operators. In fact, the fares on the overseas flights can be hiked only after January 1998. Under the international aviation guidelines, the airline will have to give a notice of three weeks to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which will in turn, inform the member carriers about the revision in domestic dollar fares in the Indian subcontinent.``The increase in fares is only to offset the increases in the cost of operations during 1996-97. Most of the input costs are beyond the control of the airline,'' according to IA Chairman and Managing Director P. C. Sen. ``The differential fare increase has been proposed as the aircraft normally consume maximum fuel on takeoff and landing. Therefore, the longer the stage length, the more economic the operation.'' Sen, however, said that the increase in fares would not affect the profitability of the airline. The decision apparently is in keeping with the recommendations for differential fares made by the Planning Commission, the Kelkar Committee and several other committees. The major areas where there was rise in input costs was aircraft maintenance (Rs. 125 crore), passenger amenities (Rs. 7 crore), exchange rate fluctuations (Rs. 33 crore), wage revisions (Rs. 35 crore), increase in tariff of hotels (Rs. 7 crore), increase in rent, electricity, communications, booking agency fees and reservation charges (Rs. 31.5 crore) and increase in customs duty on imports of aircraft items (Rs. 15 crore). Indian Airlines had to shell out Rs. 20 crore for the installation of safety equipment at the instance of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The authorities maintained that the increase was necessary because most of these input costs were beyond the control of the airline as 87 per cent of operation costs are governed by the administrative prices of the Government and other agencies. Only increase of outputs amounting to 13 per cent is within the control of the management.The hike in the fares of Indian Airlines is likely to trigger off a hike by all domestic airline operators, as they have been waiting for the flag carrier to make its move and set the trend before revising their own fares. Both Jet Airways and Sahara India Airlines are also planning a differential fare hike -- sector specific, based on demand-supply considerations. Smaller airlines like Archana, UP Air, Gujarat Airways, Span Aviation and Jagson, who ply mostly on the short-haul routes, are also expected to immediately go in for a hike in most sectors even if their tariffs are already higher than that of Indian Airlines.The hike in the fares has fuelled widespread discontent among business groups, travel agents and airline passengers in general, considering the Government has just spared them a hike in the prices of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF). The ``increase'' in input costs as being professed by the airline management, works out to 62 per cent, while the hikes in domestic fares adds up to 84 per cent. Besides, the dollar fares were increased by 15 per cent in June 1995, by 20 per cent in January 1996 and by five per cent in March this year. The air fare hike, coupled with the railway freight hike, will have a cascading effect on the economy, warned the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.While business groups expect there would a drastic cut in company travel by air, travel agents fear it would have an adverse effect on domestic tourism as well. The cumulative fare increase -- the ninth time since 1990 -- IA hopes to rake in an additional Rs. 196 crore.According to IA officials the fare hike was necessitated because of the input costs which increased by Rs. 261 crore of which Rs. 196 crore relate to domestic operations. The fare increase this time is not across the board, as suggested by the airline management, but differential in nature, as decided by the joint board of directors of Air-India and Indian Airlines. The two-tier increase imposes a 14 per cent hike on short-haul sectors up to 700 km, and 10.5 per cent on long routes above 700 km which covers most of the trunk routes. This in effect means the worst affected would be passengers serviced by IA subsidiary, Alliance Air. Though operations in most part of the North-Eastern region fell in the short-haul sector, IA decided not to increase the fares there beyond 10.5 per cent, considering the special geo- social conditions of the region.In actual terms, this means that a one-way ticket from Bombay to Delhi will cost Rs. 4,544.81, as against the earlier Rs. 4,175. Similarly, the fare between Delhi-Bangalore would be Rs. 6,815 instead of the existing Rs. 6,255; Delhi-Calcutta would be Rs. 5,276 instead of the present Rs. 4,845; and Delhi-Madras would be Rs. 6,869, as against the existing Rs. 6,305. Mercifully, the Internal Air Travel Tax (IATT) and Passenger Service Fee (PSF) have not been changed.The increase in dollar fares will be effective from a date to be announced later, since these tickets are sold sufficiently in advance and adequate notice has to be given to tour operators. In fact, the fares on the overseas flights can be hiked only after January 1998. Under the international aviation guidelines, the airline will have to give a notice of three weeks to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which will in turn, inform the member carriers about the revision in domestic dollar fares in the Indian subcontinent.``The increase in fares is only to offset the increases in the cost of operations during 1996-97. Most of the input costs are beyond the control of the airline,'' according to IA Chairman and Managing Director P. C. Sen. ``The differential fare increase has been proposed as the aircraft normally consume maximum fuel on takeoff and landing. Therefore, the longer the stage length, the more economic the operation.'' Sen, however, said that the increase in fares would not affect the profitability of the airline. The decision apparently is in keeping with the recommendations for differential fares made by the Planning Commission, the Kelkar Committee and several other committees. The major areas where there was rise in input costs was aircraft maintenance (Rs. 125 crore), passenger amenities (Rs. 7 crore), exchange rate fluctuations (Rs. 33 crore), wage revisions (Rs. 35 crore), increase in tariff of hotels (Rs. 7 crore), increase in rent, electricity, communications, booking agency fees and reservation charges (Rs. 31.5 crore) and increase in customs duty on imports of aircraft items (Rs. 15 crore). Indian Airlines had to shell out Rs. 20 crore for the installation of safety equipment at the instance of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The authorities maintained that the increase was necessary because most of these input costs were beyond the control of the airline as 87 per cent of operation costs are governed by the administrative prices of the Government and other agencies. Only increase of outputs amounting to 13 per cent is within the control of the management.The hike in the fares of Indian Airlines is likely to trigger off a hike by all domestic airline operators, as they have been waiting for the flag carrier to make its move and set the trend before revising their own fares. Both Jet Airways and Sahara India Airlines are also planning a differential fare hike -- sector specific, based on demand-supply considerations. Smaller airlines like Archana, UP Air, Gujarat Airways, Span Aviation and Jagson, who ply mostly on the short-haul routes, are also expected to immediately go in for a hike in most sectors even if their tariffs are already higher than that of Indian Airlines.The hike in the fares has fuelled widespread discontent among business groups, travel agents and airline passengers in general, considering the Government has just spared them a hike in the prices of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF). The ``increase'' in input costs as being professed by the airline management, works out to 62 per cent, while the hikes in domestic fares adds up to 84 per cent. Besides, the dollar fares were increased by 15 per cent in June 1995, by 20 per cent in January 1996 and by five per cent in March this year. The air fare hike, coupled with the railway freight hike, will have a cascading effect on the economy, warned the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.While business groups expect there would a drastic cut in company travel by air, travel agents fear it would have an adverse effect on domestic tourism as well.