Thursday, November 26, 2015

‘Zero baggage’ fares may not fly

Mumbai:  Any drop in fare is generally welcomed whole-heartedly by travellers but the new hand luggage-only, or ‘zero baggage’, fares have neither airlines nor flyers excited.

At present, only budget carrier SpiceJet is offering zero baggage fares, wherein passengers get a ₹200 discount for not carrying check-in baggage. But does that really flying cheaper? Probably not.

“In the present context the zero baggage charge does not benefit the flyer. There are times when fares on carriers that allow free baggage are much cheaper than airlines that have a zero baggage charge,” said John Nair, Head - Corporate Travel, Cox & Kings. “It would only make a difference if the fares vary by a wide margin. A small drop in charges will not act as an incentive for customers to switch to airlines that have a zero baggage charge.”

At present all domestic airlines except national carrier Air India allow a flyer to carry up to 15 kg of check-in baggage without any cost — Air India allows up to 23 kg. In some cases, Air India still turns out cheaper than the zero baggage fares.

While allowing these fares, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) clarified that it has to be an opt-in facility, which means if a traveller doesn’t want to go for zero baggage, the regular fare, which will be only ₹200 more, will be available for him. Airlines can’t even fix the number of seats for zero-baggage flyers, limiting the impact of the new fares.
25/11/15 Varun Aggarwal/Business Line
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