Reported By:
| Edited By: |Source: DNA |Updated: May 24, 2018, 08:00 AM IST
The Aviation Ministry’s proposal to allow passengers to cancel air tickets within 24 hours of booking — without facing cancellation charges — is good news for passengers.
Cancellation charges have long been a bugbear for Indian flyers. In fact, till recently, Indian airlines charged a base fare of Rs 3,000 for the cost of cancellation, regardless of the price of the ticket. This then caused the DGCA to step in and alert the airlines that the fee could not be more than the sum of the base fare and fuel surcharge. But even then the Indian consumer got back next to nothing.
What made it worse was passengers who booked through online portals had to pay an extra cancellation and convenience fee to them. Apart from safeguarding passengers, the ministry’s proposals are welcome because they lay down a set of guidelines that airlines have to follow. Currently, cancellation charges are buried in fine print, which is not very clear to most passengers. The fact that now it has to be mentioned prominently on the ticket is good news.
What is also welcome is that airlines will be forced to perform better. The government’s proposal demanding that passengers are refunded if they are informed less than 24 hours before departure that the flight will be more than four hours late is also welcome news.
What’s even better news is that airlines will now not just be responsible for one flight, but will be made responsible for the passenger’s entire flight journey, ensuring an entire overhaul in operations. Proposed fines of Rs 5,000-20,000 to be awarded to a passenger missing connecting flights when flying on one airline ticket. This will force the airline to co-ordinate its flights better. Such a service is required especially as certain parts of India are still not well connected and the loss of a connecting flight means not just money, but valuable time wasted.
The ministry’s proposal thus is godsend for the passenger. As predicted, airlines are standing firm against the government’s proposal and much discussion will take place before the final guidelines. However, there is little airlines have to complain about, as the government is only penalising them for things they are responsible for, such as loss or damage of baggage, late information of a flight delay to a passenger, and failure to ensure co-ordinating (connecting) flights for passengers. These are all within the control of the airlines and follow the norms practiced by international airlines.
The government has also made it clear that refunds will only apply if the airline is totally to blame, ensuring extraneous factors such as inclement weather and air tariff congestion, among other things, will not get passengers a refund. Hence, airlines can breathe a sigh of relief, as false claims for refunds will not be filed against them anytime soon.
In any case, comments are being sought from stakeholders in the aviation industry before these proposals become rules, which will become applicable by the end of July. Despite some fine tuning, the aviation ministry’s proposals are reasonable and should be welcomed by both passengers and airlines. With passenger complaints to the DGCA rising, including refund-related complaints, it was time for someone to step in and address the problem. These proposals do just that.
