India, March 20 -- The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) has written to the Indian ministry of civil aviation, on behalf of its members Air India, IndiGo and Spice Jet, against government directions that say carriers must allocate a minimum 60% of seats for "free" selection, meaning without any additional fee.

The airlines' body has contended that this will have "unintended and adverse consequences for the aviation sector". Calling seat-selection fee "a legitimate component of airline revenue", the federation has argued that airlines "operate on thin margins and rely on ancillary revenues to offset rising operational costs, including fuel, maintenance, airport charges, etc."

"Imposing a uniform restriction on ancillary revenue undermi...