UDF hike – self defeating??

Came across this news today about how various airports in the Metros (BIAL, DIAL, Hyderabad Intl Airport) etc. are planning to hike the UDF (User Development Fee) for both domestic and international passengers.

The reason being stated for the proposed hikes is slower than expected traffic growth resulting in slower revenue growths from these consortium airports. And hence, to be able to continue maintaining the airports, steep hikes in UDF.

To me this is self defeating. UDF hikes will only add to ticket costs, which in turn has potential to impair traffic growth even further. And its all a downward spiral from there on – more slowdowns and more hikes and so on …

Where will this end? Shouldn’t the government being intervening here rather than not do anything about the hikes? The news seems to suggest the govt. cannot do much (its hands are tied?) Wonder why the taxes we pay cannot be put to use here ? Why can’t there be a minimum floor UDF which has to be borne by the end consumer and the remaining charge be borne by the govt?

Stop bursting crackers or maybe not?

It is sometimes said that the best intentions of mankind might do more bad than good for the society at large.

Europe Vacation – French Connection – II

Second day in France, we stepped out of Paris to see Versailles and then came back to Paris to see it by night.

Versailles is famous for the famous chateau, called the Palace of Versailles. It is an imposing palace with sprawling gardens running all around the palace.

Europe Vacation – The French Connection – I

At its best, Paris is chic, stylish and flashy. Paris has its own share of shady parts of the town! And we tasted both. All in all, at the end of two days we were left longing for much more. And the impression that I came away with from the french land is that, for those looking for it,  there is unlimited fun available!

We set out for Paris on the morning of Aug 1st

Europe Vacation – Welcome to UK

You can see the first post of this series here.

First stop, immigration. The orderliness and the way things are managed in these western international airports never fails to impress me (we in India sure seem to be getting there, albeit slowly). There was a slight hiccup at immigration. The immgration officer wanted to double check on Sham’s visa as it has been rejected once earlier. We had to wait for about 5 mins, before the officer came back and approved our entry to UK. And so we passed through the gates into UK!