India’s airlines have refused to share data on airfares sought by the government regulator, setting up a clash with policymakers who are trying improve protections for consumers in a market that is a near-duopoly.
Market leaders IndiGo and Air India Group, along with SpiceJet, told the aviation regulator they can’t share the data as disclosing the information would lead to commercial setbacks, according to a March 11 letter by the Federation of Indian Airlines that was seen by Bloomberg News. The move is set to impact the government’s plan to strengthen monitoring of fares in a market where IndiGo and Air India Group together control over 90% of the share of domestic aviation following a merger last year.
That dominant position gives IndiGo and Air India a greater say in deciding fares and has fueled concern among policymakers. While fares aren’t regulated in the South Asian country, interventions, including asking airlines to add flights or cut fares, have increased after a sharp spike in prices during a Hindu religious gathering in February was widely criticized.
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In a meeting on March 3, India’s aviation regulator — the Directorate General of Civil Aviation — asked airlines to share data on airfares charged between 2022 and 2024. In response, the carriers said exposure of sensitive fare data to multiple external agencies, including consultants and third parties, heightens the risk of unauthorized disclosure, strategic exploitation and commercial setbacks for airlines, according to the letter.
The airlines have instead suggested they only share airfare data on a percentage of tickets sold in the future and only in specific cases, not as a routine practice, the letter said. IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet, India’s aviation regulator and FIA didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
India has in the past stepped in to regulate fares. Lower and upper limits on domestic airfares based on flight durations were imposed when services were resumed in May 2020, after a two-month lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The price caps were removed in August 2022.
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