Online airline booking takes off

Bangalore: If you thought Internet penetration in India had still a long way to go there’s news for you. At least in the airline industry that is not the case.
A recent Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) survey shows that 43% of low cost carrier (LCC) passengers buy their tickets over the Internet.
Abacus India managing director ViiVek Verma says such online booking trend is similar to Australia and North America, where it is 50-60%.
“The reason why e-ticketing has picked up is the comfort of using credit card on the internet. The advent online travel portals like Makemytrip, Yatra and others, where choices of different fares are available is also fuelling the online booking habit,” says Verma.
“Most LCCs have their booking 100% on the net as it helps them save huge costs, which they pass on to the consumers. The cost of offline ticket is $7-8 per passenger, while it is under $2 per passenger when sold online,” says SpiceJet vice president marketing and planning Kamal Hingorani.
27/07/07 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: General Aviation Jul 2007