Saturday, March 23, 2019

Jets grounding, yet flyers pay heavily for cancelling tickets

Munbai: Thousands of passengers who have booked their summer holiday air tickets on Jet are now stressed over the prospect of a ruined holiday and the money they would lose. The reason: Jet has been cancelling a large number of flights on a daily basis, but it also levies the steepest cancellation fee in the industry.
 While the government has allowed Jet to cancel any number of flights with impunity, if a passenger decides to cancel a ticket given Jet’s unpredictability, the airline will charge them a steep cancellation fee that can go up to Rs 4,600 for an economy-class ticket. Last month, Jet hiked its cancellation fee. At present, Jet Airways operates about 120 daily flights, which is about one-sixth the number of flights it operated at its peak, say industry sources.
Most Jet passengers aren’t told whether their flight will be operated or cancelled till the last 72 hours or so. Once Jet cancels the ticket, it is legally bound only to refund the airfare. That is no solace for passengers who bought cheap tickets months in advance as last-minute fares on other airlines would be steep.
Given the unpredictability of Jet’s operations, if the passenger decides to cancel the ticket beforehand, Jet will levy the heavy cancellation fee and most early-bookers will lose almost the entire amount they spent on the ticket.
 A Jet Airways spokesperson said, “Guests opting for voluntary cancellations are subject to appropriate charges in line with appropriate fare rules and the airline’s policy.” Anoop Kanuga of the Travel Agents Association of India said: “The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) should ask Jet to publish two months’ flight schedule, a list of flights Jet will surely operate, say till May 31. Then those passengers who find that their flights have been cancelled should be given a complete refund so that they are free to buy advance purchase tickets on other airlines. With a forward schedule, the DGCA can also release the unused Jet slots to other airlines, who will operate flights and so the supply won’t fall too much during the peak summer travel period and passengers won’t be hit.
 23/03/19 Manju V/Times India
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