Competing with other service providers on roads and waterways in terms of increasing fare, United Airways, the only airline connecting Barisal to Dhaka, has also increased its fare by 80% for first class tickets, within a period of three months by classifying seat categories into first class, business class and economy class.
United Airways, Barisal sales office sources said every passenger from now onwards will have to pay Tk5500 instead of the previous charge of Tk3000 for each ticket on a 30-minute trip on the Dhaka-Barisal route for first class tickets. The prices of economy class tickets however will remain the same.
United Airways started its operation on this route on April 25, 2013 with two flights per week at 11:30am on Sunday and 5:50pm on Thursday.
The airways has also decided to increase the number of flights to four days per week on Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday at 11:40am and on Thursday at 5:00pm from Barisal weekly, said Md Riyad Hossain of United Airways, Barisal sales office.
On other hand Qamrul Islam, assistant general manager (media), United Airways, said that they had introduced a one-way promotional fare of Tk3000 for all classes after its inauguration.
As the promotion offer period has ended, they have re-classified the ticket prices to Tk3000 for economy class, Tk4950 for business class and Tk5500 for first class seats.
He, however, refused to disclose the number of seats allocated, under the new classification in the 66 seated ATR-72, which is a short haul regional airliner and a 37 seated Bombardier Dash-8-100 medium ranged turboprop airliner, operating on this route.
Dr Mizanur Rahman, member secretary of Barisal Nagorik Parishad, said increasing the fare by 80% in the name classification of seats without disclosing the number of seats allocated was done to cheat the passengers, forcing them to pay higher fare for only a 30-minute travel.
He also urged the civil aviation authorities to look into the matter.