Air India Express on Airfares: Demand, Capacity & Self-Regulation

Gurugram, Mar 28 (PTI) Air India Express Chief Aloke Singh on Friday said the fares offered by the airline are extremely competitive and highlighted that the "self-regulation aspect" comes in situations where capacity is unable to meet the increase in demand.

There are persisting concerns over the trajectory of airfares, with calls from quarters for regulating the prices. Airfares are deregulated in the country.

At a briefing here, Singh, who is the Managing Director of the airline, said the fares offered by Air India Express are extremely competitive and there can be great bargains if the travel is planned smartly.

"There will always be spurts of demand where capacity may not be able to meet. That is where the self-regulation aspect comes in," he said.

Earlier this week, a Parliamentary panel suggested putting in place a new Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven "stringent" airfare pricing regulation mechanism for monitoring airfares.

The panel also said the current regulatory framework under the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) lacks the capacity to proactively regulate the airfares.

Meanwhile, Air India Express expects to operate more than 525 flights daily from April compared to the current count of around 485 flights.

Besides, it aims to carry 30 million passengers in the 2025-26 fiscal year.