Flying to foreign destinations to get more costly

NEW DELHI: Flying abroad this holiday season is set to bite into your budget more than you thought. Air India has increased the fuel surcharge of flights to North America and Europe by $20 (around Rs 1,100) for a one-way ticket and $40 (Rs 2,200) for a return ticket. Flights to Seoul, Bangkok andSingapore will pay $10 (Rs 550) and $20 (Rs 1,100) more for a one-way and return ticket, respectively. The new charge will be applicable on all tickets sold from Wednesday and other airlines are set to follow suit too.
"Airlines hike fuel surcharge in a staggered manner. AI has done it and others will follow suit. But the gap between the announcements may be more this time as Competition Commission of India chief Ashok Chawla is likely to meet Air Deccan founder G R Gopinath this week to see if the latter's complaint of airlines acting as a cartel and hiking fares simultaneously merits an inquiry," said a leading travel agent who did not wish to be identified.
The fuel surcharge hike comes at a time when fares are anyway high on the international side, which unlike domestic air traffic hasn't witnessed a slowdown. "Almost all international flights to and from India till January 15 are full and fares are very high because of the huge demand. For instance, Delhi-New York is around Rs 1 lakh in economy return at the moment while it usually costs Rs 70,000-80,000," said Anil Kalsi of the Society of Foreign Travel Operators (India chapter).

Ravi Grover

BCCI rejects fixing claims of India-Pakistan World Cup semifinal

NEW DELHI: The Indian Cricket board (BCCI) on Sunday refused to accept that the India-Pakistan World Cup semifinal match in 2011 was fixed saying such claims are an insult to Team India.

BCCI president N Srinivasan was reacting to a news published in a British newspaper which claimed that the semifinal game that India won was fixed.

"Such claims are an insult to our team," said Srinivasan.

Britain's Daily Mail newspaper had published extracts of a book by sports-betting journalist Ed Hawkins in which he claimed an Indian bookmaker had accurately predicted what would happen in Pakistan's innings against their arch-rivals.

Hawkins said the bookmaker, Parthiv, sent him a Twitter message during the Indian innings correctly calling that when Pakistan batted, they would reach 100 easily then lose two wickets quickly, reach 150 with five down and lose by more than 20 run