NEW DELHI: The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) has initiated investigations into the Naresh Goyal-owned Jet Airways and its low-cost subsidiary JetLite over cartelisation concerns. The two airlines announced a code-sharing agreement and back-end synergies last month.

The commission is already investigating the high-profile alliance between Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines after they signed a similar code-sharing agreement in September to see whether the formation of an alliance would lead to a monopoly in the aviation business.

A senior MRTPC official said: “We have taken into account the recent development as both Jet Airways and JetLite are operating separately. The investigation has been ordered to look into the details of the code-share agreement between these airlines and see whether it violates any provision of the MRTP Act, including unfair trade practices as well as cartelisation in the aviation industry.”

A questionnaire mailed to Jet Airways on the issue went unanswered and senior officials could not be reached for comments. Under the code-share agreement announced on October 21, both carriers had planned to leverage their respective networks and offer higher connectivity in more than 50 domestic and international markets.

Both airlines are facing an operating loss of over Rs 10 crore daily. The synergies are aimed at curbing losses and optimising their assets jointly.

Jet Airways had posted a net loss of Rs 384.50 crore in its second quarter ended September due to decline in passenger traffic and high fuel costs. In the corresponding period last year, the carrier reported a net profit of Rs 28.3 crore.
The commission will be tracking all aspects of the agreement and the persistently high air fares.

“We are investigating the matter as there are very few carriers in the Indian aviation space, which has led to an all-time high air fares. While crude oil prices have come down drastically, there is no respite in air fares. We will look into all aspects to see if there are unfair trade practices being carried out by carriers resulting in abnormally high air fares,” said the officer.