India, Feb. 18 -- On August 11, a frequent flier and social activist S Laxminarayan filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court seeking regulatory guidelines to check the unpredictable fluctuations in air fares and the ancillary charges levied by private airlines. Laxminarayan argued that air travel, which was once a luxury is now an essential service and has been classified as one. In a 140-page document, the petitioner sought government intervention in what the writ described as the "unregulated, opaque and exploitative conduct of airlines".

As it turns out, discontent against airline pricing is not specific to India. A recent US Senate subcommittee report titled 'The Sky's the Limit', created an uproar in the country. The report -- foc...