Common enquiry number for air queries?

New Delhi: People flying Indian carriers may soon enjoy a luxury that train travellers have had for years — a countrywide common enquiry number.
The aviation ministry wants to emulate the 139 service of Indian Railways by having a common phone number that will allow fliers to connect to the Indian carrier they are flying or want information on things like flight timings, fares and baggage rules.
Aviation Minister Praful Patel said the ministry is working on this and wants the facility in place before the October Commonwealth Games.
The ministry has called a meeting with Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), the umbrella organisation of Indian airlines , on Friday. The industry will be asked to implement this move as the technology is available.
In fact, the authorities are also looking at the railways to solve another problem that fliers face — overbooking by airlines, leading to forcible grounding of passengers holding confirmed tickets. While airlines overbook as there are last-minute no-shows, the ‘excess’ passengers are adjusted to ensure aircraft occupancy remain good.
“We will discuss with airlines if it’s possible to have the railways’ waiting list system for people buying airline tickets for a flight that’s already sold out. While overbooking is done globally, forcible grounding of fliers is a real problem for which DGCA has issued draft rules to penalise airlines,” said sources.
15/07/10 Saurabh Sinha/Economic Times

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Jul 2010, New Jul 2010