This is how cheap air tickets are cheating passengers
Cheap domestic air tickets create an illusion. They are inexpensive to book but costly to cancel, even though there have been several efforts to streamline the grey areas of airline operations. Other logistical handicaps only add to the woes.
And all this makes the entire process of cancelling an air ticket so complicated that often it seems better not to cancel the air ticket to receive a few hundred rupees as a consolation prize.
If the social media outrage is not telling enough, a DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) report confirms it. According to DGCA’s domestic air traffic report, refund-related complaints (8.1 per cent) have been the highest in March, surpassing the figure of the previous months; 7.3 per cent in January and 6.9 per cent in February.
Until recently, the cancellation fee for any domestic flight was a flat Rs 3,000, notwithstanding the price of the ticket. The aviation ministry considered it too steep and felt it was illogical that the cancellation fee should surpass the actual fare of the flight. Last year, the DGCA had alerted the airlines that the cancellation fee can’t be more than the sum of the base fare and fuel surcharge.
When a person is booking an air ticket, he is also paying for some services and airport charge. Now when a trip is cancelled, those services are also not availed.
Following a rap from the government, the refund rule was tweaked, and it was made “…Rs 3,000 or base fare plus fuel surcharge per passenger, whichever is lower”.
Not the solution
The clause “whichever is lower” will only save those who have booked a ticket with base fare plus fuel surcharge not exceeding Rs 3,000. For other tickets, which may exceed Rs 3,000 by a few thousand rupees, the cancellation fee remains Rs 3,000. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), India remained the world’s fastest growing aviation market between 2015 and 2017.
Considering the growth, it’s time the airlines considered the woes of the passengers.
Why cancellation fees are so high
According to analysts, the airlines treat this as a revenue generating process as they can’t hike airfare. With so many airlines having domestic operations, fare hikes will translate into a significant loss in the number of passengers.
This leaves the vicious cycle created by various airlines exposed: they announce cheap air tickets just when you plan your trip at least a few months ahead. Since you planned in advance, there may be an unforeseen situation for which the trip may need to be cancelled. This, in turn, will cost you dear, thus cushioning the airlines from the loss.
Also read: Why Air India is finding no takers