NEW DELHI: A plan floated by the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) in India last month has been accepted by a majority of Indian airlines which offers domestic travelers a discount for not flying with check-in baggage. Leading airlines like Jet Airways and IndiGo are learnt to be on board, and the regulator is expected to allow the discount for flying light, as early as this festive season.
TOI reports that IndiGo, has asked DGCA to let airlines decide how they plan to extend the benefit to fly-light passengers. “It may either be an outright discount of a fixed amount or airlines could have two fares- one with check-in baggage and other without. The benefit under the latter can go as high as Rs 400-500 per passenger,” said a source.
When the regulator had floated this idea last month, it had expected airlines may give such flyers a discount of Rs 200 to Rs 300 on the total ticket cost. The global practice is to charge for check-in baggage, something that is so far not allowed in India. However, all airlines in India have reduced the free baggage limit from 20 kg per domestic flyer earlier to 15 kg.
However, busting the myth, an airline official said, There is nothing like free baggage check-in. Airlines fares have a built-in amount for extending that facility to passengers. The logical thing would have been to segregate all services and let passengers choose what they want and pay for that. Since that is not allowed in India, let the reverse logic work in terms of giving discount for those with no check-in baggage,” he said.
The government is believed to have got this idea in June, when the joint-venture- Tata-AirAsia during its launch decided not to allow any free check-in baggage. The JV of Malaysian low cost AirAsia and Tata Sons had proposed that pre-booking baggage charges would start at Rs 199 for up to 15 kg. This charge would have kept getting heftier as the bags got heavier. And flyers checking-in at airport counters were to pay Rs 300 for up to 15 kg and then Rs 250 per kg for every kilo beyond 15 kg.
There was a predictable uproar as everyone felt all airlines would have followed suit, just like they all reduced check-in baggage from 20 kg to 15 kg. The DGCA then stepped in, to direct AirAsia India to allow 15 kg of free check-in baggage like all airlines.
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