Jet Airways and IndiGo, who take as much as fifty percent total air-passenger load in the country, have pulled out from the yatra.com and
MakeMyTrip.com website. The airlines are protesting against the “opaque fares” scheme that is listed on the travel portal.
“Opaque fares” was a service offered by travel portals such as Yatra.com and MakeMyTrip.com that offered discounted air tickets to buyers, without
disclosing which airline the bookings were made under, until the final payment has been made. However, India’s aviation regulatory authority
Directorate General of Civil Aviation(DGCA) had asked all airlines to “immediately withdraw” participation from such schemes through a directive issued
on 28th March.
Although the website claims to have stopped the practice since the government disallowed airlines to be a part of such schemes, the airlines have yet
decided to opt out. IndiGo in an official statement said, “The arbitrary display of fares and opaque pricing is anti consumer and in violation of DGCA
norms and directives”.
Reports further suggest that consumers have been severely inconvenienced through this scheme, as it booked passengers on Kingfisher tickets, that too
on flights which eventually got cancelled.
MakeMyTrip.com in its official statement maintained that all fares are put up only after they are approved by the participating airlines. Let’s just
hope that this issue is resolved soon, so that you can enjoy a happy journey to a destination of your choice.
