JEDDAH, 26 January 2004 — The joint action committee of more than 50 Keralite organizations here has urged Air-India and Indian Airlines to slash their “discriminatory” fares to the south Indian cities of Calicut, Cochin and Trivandrum.
In a statement issued after a meeting here on Saturday, the organizations called upon the two carriers to provide NRIs in the Gulf with off-season fares during the Haj season. They also demanded international status for Calicut airport. The organizations warned that they would be forced to advise NRIs to boycott Air-India if it fails to honor their “reasonable and legitimate” demands.
The committee claimed that Air-India imposes an extra charge of SR400 on passengers from Jeddah to Calicut, making an additional revenue of SR1.28 million monthly.
About 800 passengers travel on Air-India’s Jeddah-Calicut flights weekly. Keralites account for 70 percent of the 1.6 million NRIs in the Gulf. In a recent speech, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee admitted that Keralites contribute half of NRI foreign remittances which are estimated at Rs. 550 billion.
The committee called for budget flights in the Gulf sector. Air-India Chairman V. Thulasi Das has reportedly said the airline was ready to operate the demanded flights if they were found feasible. However, he said there was no plan to reduce fares to Kerala sectors.
The organizations pointed out that many foreign airlines such as Turkish Airways, Bangladesh Airlines and Pakistan International Airlines were offering special fares to their citizens working in the Gulf.
“Air-India and Indian Airlines are still dearer to us than other airlines. At the same time, they have an obligation to look into our problems and solve them,” it said.
The organizations said Air-India was presenting false reasons for the fare hike. The airline was exploiting low-paid Indians in the Gulf to cover losses from other non-profitable sectors in Europe and America. More than 80 percent of Gulf workers earn less than $300 a month.
The committee said it was demanding a fare structure based on the actual distance and cost of operations which would reduce the present fare by 30-35 percent.
“Air-India increases its fare to the Gulf sector at least four times a year. During the peak season, they impose penalties of SR100 to SR300 for cancellation and refuse refunds for no-shows,” it said.
The organizations urged the airline to arrange extra flights to meet the increased demand during the Haj season. “We are determined to fight for justice. We have realized from past experience that simply submitting memorandums will not solve our problem. This time we want to see some action,” they said.
The committee said the NRIs in the Gulf had been pressing for airfare cuts for more than a decade. “We have lost our faith in the authorities and decided to take some action that would make our national airlines understand that without us they cannot operate in this region,” the statement said.
