After three months of a sustained northward rally, oil marketing companies on Monday reduced the price of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) by 4.33 per cent. However, this is not likely to bring any relief to flyers as there is little sign the airlines will bring down the fuel surcharge.
From Monday, every kilo litre of ATF would cost Rs 70,515.97 in Delhi against Rs 73,710.69 earlier. The last reduction in ATF was on July 1 when prices came down to Rs 61,169.08 per kilo litre from Rs 62,409.95 a kilo litre.
Currently, the ATF price is 20.38 per cent higher when compared year-on-year.
The airlines have faced higher fuel prices for the past several months. This, coupled with the festival season and reduction in seats, will not translate to a drop in passenger fares.
“ATF prices during the last few months went up substantially. So this 4.3 per cent reduction is not going to impact the fuel bill much. There is almost no possibility of a change in the air surcharge,” said a senior official with a private airline.
With major festivals such as Dussehra and Diwali coming up, there is more demand. Moreover, after the shutdown of Kingfisher Airlines’ operation, the number of seats on several routes has reduced, the official added.