Business Bureau,

Air travellers from the city are bearing the brunt of recent decision of the Jet Airways as it has cut short its fleet. The travellers boarding flight from Nagpur to various destinations have been forced to pay extra as the number of the flights cancellation has increased which eventually mismatched the ‘demand and supply’ of number of seats available and the passengers.  Air ticket fares from Nagpur to other cities have increased as Jet Airways grounded 49 out of the 119 aircraft due to non-payment of lease rentals, sources in the industry.

Taking advantage of the situation, competitors like Air India, Indigo and Go Air have hiked air fares. From Nagpur the most affected are the Nagpur-Mumbai and Nagpur-Delhi sectors where the air ticket fares have shot up, said sources.

For the past four days Jet Airways has cancelled most of the flights on the Nagpur-Mumbai and Nagpur-Delhi routes. Accordingly, Air India and Go Air have raised fares on the Nagpur-Mumbai sector which are being quoted at Rs 7,000 to Rs 8,000 per ticket, compared to earlier average fares at Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000. Similarly, Air India and Indigo have hiked fares on the Nagpur-Delhi sector which are being quoted at Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,500 per ticket, compared to earlier average fares at Rs 3,500 to Rs 4,000 per ticket.

Jet Airways used to operate three flights daily on the Nagpur-Mumbai sector. Large number of flight cancellations is giving sleepless nights to passengers. With air ticket fares shooting up a lot of inconvenience is being caused to air travellers. Travel agents are saying that they have to keep a strict watch over the flight cancellations on a day to day basis. Most passengers book their tickets about two or three months in advance and plan accordingly. Another travel agent said, “Jet Airways had canceled a flight and given a notice just two days in advance to my client who had booked 20 tickets for his son’s marriage. In such cases, alternative flight arrangements had to given on urgent basis to the customer. Getting refund or jet  hopping on to alternative flights comes with a lot of discomfort and delays”.

On cancellation of flight, Jet Airways is providing the option of ticket refund or alternative flight. In some instances, travel agents are complaining that Jet Airways officials said are not replying to their queries. One travel agent said that air travel has become unpredictable these days as people having booked tickets as far back as November 2018 are being cancelled within short notice.