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If sources are to be believed, the Indian government is likely to introduce a new policy for short-distance flights. As per the reports, short-distance flights would be charged at a fixed price of Rs 2,500 per hour and while doing so, excise duty on jet fuel and service tax on tickets for the regional flights would be taken off of the fare. Another charge that may be waived off is the passenger services fee (PSF), which is Rs 149 per ticket, and is used to fund the cost of providing security at airports. 
 
Finance ministry has lend its support to the proposal and the policy would most likely be announced in the upcoming budget. The news has come from the mouth of a senior civil aviation ministry official, on the condition of anonymity. 
 
"The finance ministry has given its consent for the waiver of central excise duty of about 8% on fuel and service tax of about 4.94% on flights under the regional connectivity plan," said the official. 
 
To be eligible for the scheme, states will have to offer value added tax on jet fuel at 1%. 
 
After PM Narendra Modi approved the idea, the ministry set up a committee, and the cabinet secretary was the head of the committe. The members of the said committee met twice and reached on a consensus to execute the plan. 
 
However, not everything is as hunky-dory as it may sound. Take the example of a flight between Delhi and Mumbai. With the standard rate applied, the ticket would cost Rs 5000 flat, but at present, it can cost lesser, even with all the taxes and duties applied. 
 
Nonetheless, experts from the industry say that there will be a strong demand for flights at this standard fare. 
 
<a href="http://www.bnnaviation.com/images/slide-4.jpg">Image source</a>

Soon, Rs 2500/hr flights. No fuel charges or
tax added

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Passengers were able to buy tickets for a flight that didn't exist due to a ticketing mixup. </li><li>They were told at the airport that the airline had stopped serving the route, per the Times of India.</li></ul>A number of airline passengers were left stranded at an Indian airport after they were sold tickets for a flight that didn't exist, according to reports.The passengers only found out that their Go First flight between Hyderabad and New Delhi was no longer running after they arrived at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on October 31, the <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/hyderabad-delhi-flyers-get-tickets-to-a-ghost-flight/articleshow/95240325.cms">Times of India</a> (TOI) reported. The airline had stopped operating on the route about a month prior, per TOI.Despite having valid Passenger Name Record (PNR) numbers that should have enabled them to check in for the flight, airport staff refused to let the travelers board. The staff then told them that the flight no longer existed, TOI reported.Go First, an Indian budget carrier, stopped operating the route on October 1. However, passengers were still able to purchase tickets through third-party ticket website Happyfares up until at least October 27, per TOI. The affected passengers purchased the tickets through a third-party ticket site Happyfares, the outlet reported. Happyfares had been sold the tickets by a sub-agent for the airline called Goflysmart. A representative from Goflysmart told the TOI that the airline sent an email on October 26 informing that the flight had changed. However, this was not updated on Happyfares, per industry publication <a href="https://simpleflying.com/go-first-passengers-booked-on-non-existent-flight/">Simple Flying</a>. Go First also continued to list the PNR on its website, per TOI.After finding out about their flight, some passengers had to pay double for a spot ticket, per the Times of India. Others have called for the country's aviation authority to take action against the airline. Passenger Ram Kumar Thota told the TOI that the airline should pay a heavy penalty "for putting us through such physical and mental agony." Thota said they were still awaiting a response from the airline.Neither Go First, Happyfares nor Goflysmart immediately responded to Insider's request for further comment, which came outside of standard business hours.

Passengers were left stranded at an airport after they were sold tickets for a flight that didn't exist, reports say

(Photo Source: wikipedia.org) <ul><li>Indian consumer forum has asked the budget carrier, <keyword id="6354706" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="IndiGo">IndiGo</keyword>, to pay ₹25,000 ($348) as compensation for cancelling a passenger’s flight minutes before the departure in 2016. </li><li>A jury found no genuine reason for the airline to refuse the passenger from boarding, and ordered the airline to also revert the charges for the original ticket and the alternate ticket amounting to ₹9,729 in total. </li><li>Last year, over 512,000 domestic passengers in India faced inconvenience due to cancellations in the first four months of the year alone.</li></ul>Two years after IndiGo Airlines reportedly refused a male passenger from boarding a flight from Hyderabad to Chennai despite clearing all essential security checks, a district consumer forum has now asked the budget carrier to refund the total flight costs along with a compensation of ₹25,000, Times of India <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/indigo-ordered-to-pay-flyer-rs-25000-for-refusing-boarding/articleshow/67008781.cms?UTM_Source=Google_Newsstand&amp;UTM_Campaign=RSS_Feed&amp;UTM_Medium=Referral&amp;from=mdr">reported</a>. Looking through the complaint, the consumer forum said that they found no genuine reason for denying the passenger boarding. The forum claimed that the complainant, could only manage to be at the boarding gate after the gates were closed. Kumar, the complainant had to reportedly take an alternate flight on his own, and lodged complaints about the incident. IndiGo, on the other hand, <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/indigo-ordered-to-pay-flyer-rs-25000-for-refusing-boarding/articleshow/67008781.cms?UTM_Source=Google_Newsstand&amp;UTM_Campaign=RSS_Feed&amp;UTM_Medium=Referral&amp;from=mdr">reportedly</a> had sought to have the case dismissed over a technicality — that it was filed against IndiGo and not InterGlobe Aviation — its registered name. The decision is significant as India’s <keyword id="6368649" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="civil-aviation">civil aviation</keyword> authorities appear to be taking note and acting on flyer complaints about unwarranted cancellations. In 2016, Indian civil aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), issued <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/airlines-to-pay-huge-compensation-for-flight-cancellation-or-denying-boarding-to-flier/articleshow/53254485.cms">guidelines</a> on cancellation and denying boarding by airlines saying that the airlines will have to provide compensation to the flyer in such cases. According to the norms then formulated, airlines are supposed to pay a compensation of up to ₹20,000 in case of refused boarding while for a cancelled or delayed flight, the airline is bound to pay up to ₹10,000 to the flyer. Last year, over 512,000 domestic passengers in India faced inconvenience due to cancellations and refused boarding with airlines, <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/personal-finance-news/what-are-your-rights-when-flying/articleshow/59080161.cms">according to</a> DGCA stats for first four month of the year. This maybe due to the airlines making bookings beyond availability, ET <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/personal-finance-news/what-are-your-rights-when-flying/articleshow/59080161.cms">reported earlier</a>. As per the aviation norms, a person can claim monetary compensation from airlines for denied boarding if the ticket is confirmed and the passenger is available at the time of boarding, it said. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-government-to-review-indigo-spicejet-policies-to-charge-for-web-check-in-after-flyers-protest/articleshow/66805080.cms">Indian government to review IndiGo, Spicejet policies to charge for web check-in after flyers protest</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-railways-had-the-best-response-to-budget-airlines-in-india-charging-for-online-check-ins/articleshow/66820936.cms">Indian Railways had the best response to budget airlines in India charging for online check-ins</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-largest-passenger-airline-just-posted-its-first-ever-quarterly-loss-since-going-public-and-its-results-reflect-the-larger-woes-of-the-countrys-aviation-sector/articleshow/66362156.cms">India’s largest passenger airline just posted its first ever quarterly loss since going public — and its results reflect the larger woes of the country’s aviation sector</a>

India’s consumer court has begun cracking down on budget airlines denying boarding to passengers

The beleaguered carrier, <keyword id="6358032" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SpiceJet">Spicejet</keyword>’s is back with delightful offers for the air travellers. And this has resulted in a spurt of flight bookings on online travel portal. 
	 
	“With flight ticket prices lesser than train fares from SpiceJet, this is by far the best deal for travellers this year. SpiceJet is looking to aggressively regain market share and we have seen their bookings on our website grow exponentially by over 300%,” said Sharat Dhall, president of Yatra.com. 
	 
	He further added, “Sectors like Goa, Kerala, Pune and Hyderabad as well as intra-metro routes have seen the most bookings. We expect SpiceJet bookings to continue to grow in the next couple of days and anticipate other airlines to follow suit with offers of their own.” 
	 
	The carrier, which went through a serious financial crisis by the end of 2014, has once again come up with flash sale, this time selling the tickets lower than the railways. Spicejet is now offering tickets at Rs 599. 
	 
	However, questions are being raised about the feasibility of the flash sale especially at a time when the airline is going through a financial crunch. 
	 “It is misconception to say that discounted prices are not a feasible idea for the airline. Low-cost carriers across the globe come out with such offers and they are still in existence. According to <keyword id="64233" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="IATA">IATA</keyword>, Indian domestic market grew 6% in July year-over-year and we feel that market stimulation efforts led by us had some contribution toward this growth,” a SpiceJet spokesperson told BI India in an email response a while back. Reiterating a similar sentiment, aviation expert Amber Dubey noted that <keyword id="961660" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="flash-sales">flash sales</keyword> of air tickets actually help a carrier recover the cost incurred on seats that generally fly empty on a route. 
	 
	“Flash sales of air tickets are a good way to stimulate buying, bring in non-flyers and sell unsold seats, which are anyways likely to remain unsold in non-peak hour flights. The cost structure of airlines is mostly of a fixed nature–fuel wages, airport charges, aircraft lease and maintenance among others. The incremental cash that flash sales generate helps defray part of the fixed cost. Flying an empty seat is the biggest pain-point for an airline”, added Dubey. 
	 
	BI India feels that while it may be an attractive proposition for the air passengers, it would be interesting to see which Indian carriers follow suit and offer such heavy discounts on their tickets.

SpiceJet heavy discounts boost flight bookings
by 300%

This may sound little bizarre but it is true. Airfares were cheapest this year in 2015 as compared to last three years. 
 
As per airlines and travel firms, ticket prices were 40 per cent cheaper when compared to past three years. 
 "The reason for this is primarily two - the decline in fuel costs being passed on to passengers and the advent of new carriers which has led to an increase of supply in airline seats as well as competition," Amit Taneja, chief revenue officer at <keyword id="132652" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cleartrip">Cleartrip</keyword> told ET. 
 
According to the Cleartrip survey, average annual ticket prices for the current financial year ranged between Rs 5,857 and Rs 4,018. 
 
In past few years, airliners have been aggressively rolling out deals to attract fliers. According to a survey by GoEuro, Indian local ticket prices as a fraction of what is charged in Finland, Switzerland, Austria and Estonia, apart from much-developed markets such as the US and UK. 
 From <keyword id="6358032" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SpiceJet">SpiceJet</keyword> to <keyword id="2467342" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vistara">Vistara</keyword>, airlines changed tracks to gain more consumers and fill their flights. 
 
Another factor why airlines lowered prices was cost of jet fuel. The per kilolitre rate at Delhi airport, India's busiest, is currently 26 per cent cheaper than December last year, 40 per cent cheaper than 2013 and 34 per cent cheaper than 2012.

If you are thinking airfares were sky rocketing in 2015, this news is for you!

New Delhi, Apr 7 ()el agents body on Tuesday alleged that majority of IATA-member airlines have disabled the refunding mechanism on the Global Distribution Services System (GDS-system) for agents and urged the civil aviation ministry to direct the airlines to repay customers for cancelled flights due to 21-day lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus infection. Most of the airlines, including domestic players, have refused to refund customers whose flights either got cancelled due to the suspension of all commercial passenger flights in the wake of 21-day lockdown, or because of the visa and travel restrictions by various countries or they themselves cancelled tickets on account of pandemic concerns. The airlines are forcing customers to accept travel vouchers with their validity, in some cases, as long as one year.Not only this, domestic airlines except the national carrier Air India, have started taking bookings from April 15 onwards. The three-week lockdown will remain in force till April 14, as of now."Due to the travel restrictions placed by governments across the world, customers/travellers want to cancel their bookings and claim back refunds for tickets booked by them. Travellers want their blocked money back for the unutilised travel, which shall not be undertaken by them," Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) Vice President Jay Bhatia said in a statement.The travel agents/tour operators have paid in full to the airlines for all tickets that have been issued, till date."Our member agents are wanting to process the refunds for the tickets issued by them for their customers," TAAI said."But majority of IATA member airlines have disabled the refunding mechanism on the GDS systems for agents, who are now required to manually process refunds through Refund Authority with IATA, whereby the airlines are being non-committal on the date and amount of repayment of airfare," the association alleged.A GDS is a computer network system that allows travel agencies and websites to book tickets on any airline for a passenger. While all full-service carriers avail GDS system for selling their tickets, a few budget airlines also use this platform."Post-April 15, if things come to normalcy, the refund process, if authorised by the airlines, may take from 15 days to at least three months, depending on theairline and how the situation across the globe remains, Bhatia said.Currently, most of the airlines are not giving waivers on the cancellation charges and also not refunding in cash. They are only giving credit vouchers, which are valid for 365 days and a couple of them are offering credit vouchers for up to 760 days, favouring the passenger, whereby name change will not be permitted, TAAI said.Further, according to the Association, additional funds of the agents are blocked with the airlines which have been paid by way of advances in float accounts of low-cost carriers.According to TAAI, most low-cost carriers too are not refunding the airfares and are creating a credit shell favouring the passenger, to be used for future dates.TAAI said it has raised strong objections on this issue with the airlines along with IATA and has asked the Ministry to direct the airlines to refund all refund money," it said."We are working closely wA and IATA on daily basis to find a suitable solution, to resolve the refund issue, in the interest of the passenger, along with support from Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH), said Bhatia. IAS MR

You Searched For "indian airline tickets" and got 6 results

Soon, Rs 2500/hr flights. No fuel charges or tax added

BI India Bureau

Passengers were left stranded at an airport after they were sold tickets for a flight that didn't exist, reports say

Stephen Jones

India’s consumer court has begun cracking down on budget airlines denying boarding to passengers

BI India Bureau

SpiceJet heavy discounts boost flight bookings by 300%

Purba Das

If you are thinking airfares were sky rocketing in 2015, this news is for you!

BI India Bureau

Airlines not refunding for cancelled flights due to lockdown, allege travel agents

PTI

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