SpiceJet seeks time to reply to regulator’s notice

NEW DELHI - Budget airline SpiceJet Thursday said it has sought more time from the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) to respond to its notice on increase in ticket prices, but said prices were a result of gaps in supply and demand.

We have asked for some more time from the DGCA to respond to their notice. Our response will come by Dec 1, Samyukth Sridharan, chief commercial officer, SpiceJet, told reporters on the sidelines of an industry summit.

Earlier in the day, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said airlines would not be allowed to charge “exorbitant” fares and errant firms would be dealt with strictly.

He added that aviation watchdog DGCA had the powers to check such malpractices, and it would invoke them if airlines do not fall in line.

“They cannot go for a free run and ask for any kind of price from a customer at the last minute,” Patel said, referring to recent cases where airlines hiked prices by up to 200 percent for last-minute bookings.

Referring to the notice and the high ticket prices on certain routes, Sridharan said that if the tickets were booked in advance then the passengers were not charged high prices.

“If you book a ticket 15 days in advance you will get low fares, but if you book it at the last minute the prices will be high,” Sridharan added.