SpiceJet offers rock-bottom fares, flyers' body writes to DGCA

June 22, 2016

Gurgaon, Jun 22: Hotting up the low-fares war among airlines, SpiceJet today rolled out a new scheme offering base costs as low as Rs 444 on some destinations on its domestic network with a select booking period and limited number of seats.spicejet

No sooner did the no-frills carrier announce its 'Monsoon Bonanza Sale', flyers' body Air Passengers Association of India (APAI) wrote to aviation regulator DGCA, seeking to know if it was mulling any action on such "bogus" schemes by airlines.

The five-day sale launched today will be open till the midnight of June 26, the airline said, adding the travel period under the offer stands between July 1 and September 30.

The SpiceJet promo one-way base fare of Rs 444 are for select sectors, including Jammu-Srinagar, Ahmedabad-Mumbai, Mumbai-Goa, Delhi-Dehradun and Delhi-Amritsar routes.

Fares would vary according to sector, depending on the travel distance and flight schedules, and timings are subject to regulatory approvals and change(s), it said. Besides SpiceJet, IndiGo, GoAir and Air Asia India had recently come out with similar low-fare offers.

Alleging that the airlines were "taking for a ride" the passengers with such schemes, APAI wrote to Directorate General of Civil Aviation to raise concern over the issue.

"This has reference to the advertisement released by SpiceJet in today's news papers ... We started getting complaints from as early as 10.20 AM from many of our members stating that no such fare is available even for short distance of less than 500 km," APAI founder and national president D Sudhakara Reddy said in the strongly-worded letter.

According to APAI, its members found that most of these fares offered in the flash sale are for flights originating from Delhi and for nearby destinations such as Amritsar, Chandigarh, etc.

"We then asked our office to try for other destinations. (Here also) even in the first half of the day when the advertisement has appeared, no such fares are available. So what is the logic for such offers?," APAI said.

"We strongly believe that these are nothing but gimmicks and the gullible passengers are being taken for a ride (in the name of such low fare schemes," he said.

Reddy, in his letter, also sought to know the "action" the DGCA intended to take over such offers by the airlines.

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News Network
June 5,2020

New Delhi, Jun 5: India registered its highest spike in COVID-19 cases with 9,851 more cases and 273 deaths reported in the last 24 hours. The total number of cases in India reached 2,26,770 including 1,10,960 active cases, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The Ministry informed that 1,09,462 persons have been cured/discharged/migrated while 6,348 people have succumbed to the disease so far.

Maharashtra has so far reported 77,793 cases, more than any other state in the country, while the total number of active cases in the state stands at 41,402.

In Tamil Nadu, 27,256 cases have been detected so far while Delhi has reported 25,004 coronavirus cases.

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News Network
March 26,2020

New Delhi, Mar 26: Despite repeated assurances by the Centre and state government of no shortage of food and essential services in Delhi, many daily wage earners have started fleeing the national capital on foot to return to their native villages in nearby Uttar Pradesh and other states because of the hardships being faced by them.
Most daily wage earners who are fleeing have complained that they are doing so because they will die of hunger due to lack of resources at their disposal.
"I am going to Azamgarh, my native place which is more than 800 kilometers from here. We have started walking towards our village. On the roads, if we get some vehicles then it will be all right otherwise we will continue on foot. I used to work in the construction sector but all work has stopped, we therefore have no other means to buy our rations. Atleast, food is guaranteed in our homes," Ghanshyam, a daily wage earner, told ANI here.
Rani, another daily wage earner, who was fleeing Delhi along with her family said, "Who would want to leave on foot, but what other options do we have. Our children will die of hunger, even if they are saved from the disease. That is why we are leaving."
While the government has been assuring that it will provide food and other essentials to the low-income groups, the people complained that they are yet to receive any help.
The departing of people has started despite repeated warnings by governments to prevent the influx of persons living in other states to curtail the spread of coronavirus.
Prince, who used to reside in Mongolpuri area of Delhi, said, "If we continue to stay the landlord will pester us for rent. The prices of all commodities are rising with each passing day, this way we will have nothing left to survive. We did not get any help from the government. I am, therefore, returning to Kasganj, which is close to 300 kilometres from Delhi. We will at least get food served twice a day in the village, nobody is offering us even water here."
Earlier on Tuesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced Rs 5,000 for each construction worker under Construction Workers Welfare Board Fund.
Addressing a video conference here, he said, "The Delhi government will give Rs 5,000 to each construction worker as their livelihood has been affected due the outbreak of coronavirus."
He also said that the number of night shelters in the city has been increased and more food is being distributed to homeless people.
He also said that due to curfew, several people were not able to get food, and urged the public to send such people to the nearest shelters of the Delhi government, where food was being arranged.

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News Network
February 16,2020

Washington, Feb 16: India and the United States share "unshakeable" ties, said US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS), Alice Wells, on Sunday, adding that the upcoming visit of President Donald Trump will further strengthen the relationship between the two countries.

"The U.S. and #India enjoy a close partnership that grows stronger day by day. Together, we are breaking records. For example, we welcomed a record number of Indian exchange students to the US last year and hope to receive even more this year," said Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs in a tweet attributed to Alice Wells.

"The ties between our countries are unshakeable, and we look forward to an even warmer relationship as @narendramodi hosts @POTUS later this month," it added.

Trump will pay a two-day state visit to India from February 24 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"India is at the heart of the Indo-Pacific region and plays an increasingly prominent role on the world's stage. The U.S. looks forward to partnering with #India at every step of the way, " Alice Wells further said.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Trump is expected to attend an event at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad on the lines of the ''Howdy Modi'' function that was addressed by the US President and PM Modi in Houston in September last year. Trump is slated to pay a two-day visit to India from February 24.

During the visit, Trump, who will be accompanied by First Lady Melania, will attend official engagements in New Delhi and Ahmedabad, and interact with a wide cross-section of the Indian society, the MEA said in a statement.

The announcement of Trump's first official visit to India was earlier made by the White House on Monday, which, in its statement, said that the US President and Modi had agreed during a recent phone conversation that the trip will "further strengthen the United States-India strategic partnership and highlight the strong and enduring bonds between the American and Indian people".

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