PTI

Mumbai, Oct 18: Air fares across the aviation sector are likely to go up as oil prices are expected to increase, a top industry official said.

"Air fares will be going up in line with oil prices," Jet Airways' Chief Financial Officer Carl Saldanha said on the sidelines of a CFO conference being held here on Wednesday October 17.

The kind of loss the airlines are going through, it is inevitable that airline fares will be raised by all airlines, he said.

"As the government increases fuel surcharge, airlines will pass it on to passengers, thus raising the prices of tickets," Saldhana said.

The average price of tickets will go up, he added.

"The Diwali season is the peak season and we don't know exactly when we will increase fares. It will depend on when the government imposes surcharge on us and we pass it further on to the passengers," he said.

Jet is also looking at new destinations like Nairobi,Johannesburg and other Middle East routes, Saldhana said.

"In the next three to four months we may be operating in the Middle East while in the next 12 months, we hope to operate on other routes," he said.

Speaking on the growth of the aviation industry, he said that top line growth in the sector will be massive and would be well above 20 per cent, he said.
     
Saldhana said that the steps taken by Reserve Bank of India to curb inflation was justified.
     
"Oil prices are already soaring and there was need of correction in the market," he said.
     
"The market is going to slow down but growth will be steady," he added.
     
On the Rupee, Saldhana said that the currency was going to further strengthen against the US dollar and would be around Rs 39 per USD by March next year.