Domestic Airlines Reduce Fares Amid Lower Jet Fuel Prices

ISLAMABAD: While the federal government has kind of failed to pass on the benefit of declining petroleum prices to consumers, even though rates have already dropped back to pre February 28 war-era levels, domestic air travellers are getting at least some relief.

Jet fuel prices sort of doubled in those first weeks around the Iran war, and then airlines started handing those costs to passengers, with higher fares, less frequent flights, and also higher baggage fees. 

A ticket from Islamabad to Quetta now ranges between a minimum of Rs 16,770 and a maximum of Rs 48,890. On the Lahore-Quetta route, fares range from a minimum of Rs 12,020 to a maximum of Rs 44,140, while the Karachi-Quetta sector will cost passengers between Rs 13,603 and Rs 44,000 for a one-way ticket.

“We had no choice,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said last week, explaining the nearly $2 billion that big carriers like Delta had to pay because of fuel price jumps this quarter.

Still, fuel prices actually have come down during the last two months. And the airlines don’t really intend to undo any of the increased fares or the fees. Bastian said the fares are at the “right level,” even if the costs are now “meaningfully” lower.