The Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has directed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to frame rules that would put a 10 per cent cap on the reserved seat category. The government will not let airlines inconvenience passengers in the guise of ancillaries, Singh said. On April 29, Aviation Ministry allowed airlines to unbundle charges of services such as preferential seating, meals, snacks, drinks (except drinking water), the use of lounges, baggage, the carriage of sports equipment and musical instruments, and the treatment of valuable items.    

The decision, the ministry hoped, would bring down the base fare as fliers would only be charged for the services they wanted. But with some airlines tagging almost all seats as preferential, passengers have been crying foul.    

Rajji Rai, advisor to the Travel Agents Association of India said that the cost of flying has actually increased. The base fare hasn’t come down and other than frequent flyers, who travel with a single hand bag or bagless, all others would have to pay for services they use, Rai said.  Airlines are now charging anywhere between Rs 200-Rs 1,500 for seat reservation. Last week, the ministry called a meeting of airlines and asked carriers to limit such seats.