Airlines told to display fares properly on net

That attractive airfare that you see on an airline's website or a travel portal hides more than what it shows. In a recent review of websites of domestic airlines and travel portals, civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) found that airlines are not transparent when it comes to showing the total amount payable by passengers and the break-up of the tariff.
The regulator has asked all s domestic airlines to become s transparent in displaying tariffs by August 15 or face action. It s also wants the 70-odd foreign l airlines to follow this rule. DGCA chief Naseem Zaidi met representatives of these - airlines on Wednesday to discuss the issue. In an amendment of rule 135 of the Aircraft Rules on April 16, 2009, airlines were made to display tariff in a conspicuous manner to show the total amount with complete break-up.
The break-up should have had indicated the fare, tax, fees or any other charge separately. The airlines had also been asked to advise their travel agents to act accordingly. The airlines were given a deadline up to June 30 to comply with the rule. "(But) Instead of showing the total amount as one figure, the airlines split the basic fare and misled passengers," said a senior DGCA official who is not authorised to talk to the media.
"The fuel surcharge, for instance, is shown separately and it seems it is a charge levied by the government even when it is not," the official said. "We are pursuing the airlines to follow the law and plan to take serious action if they keep on doing this even after August 15. We can stop their flights right now but that would only inconvenience passengers," he said.
The DGCA has also asked airlines to stop using jargon that confuses passengers. "There is no uniformity of airfare display on websites and they are not fully in accordance with the rule," he said. The regulator has found 33 travel agents/portals book air tickets through their websites but are not following the rules.

Source:
Hindustan Times
Date-31 July 2009
Edition- New Delhi

Budget carriers fly high in downturn

When budget carriers like Air Deccan and Spicejet began flying, both, Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal and Kingfisher Airlines chairman Vijay Mallya said the model will not work in India. Six years later, Mallya has moved 70 per cent of his planes to an all-economy class service, Kingfisher Red, after acquiring Air Deccan in 2007.
Goyal, who has shifted a third of his capacity to an all-economy class service, Jet Airways Konnect (started in May), plans to shift 70 per cent capacity to this service by October. If you include Jet Lite, Goyal has already moved 50 per cent of his planes in the no-frills mart. Next, Air India plans to launch Air India Express’ low-fare service on domestic routes.
Low cost carriers (LCCs) have 55 per cent of the market, up from 45 per cent in Q1 last year, and 30 per cent two years back. Does it mean India really is an LCC market? The performance of the airlines also seem to suggest that. While budget carrier Spicejet announced a small profit for Q1, all the big boys in the industry seem to be in trouble.
While Spicejet made a net profit of Rs 26.3 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2009, Jet Airways and Kingfisher have reported a net loss of
Rs 225.31 crore and Rs 242.71 crore on declining yields at home, while Air India Flights has sought a Rs 20,000 crore bailout from the government, after totting up losses of Rs 7,000 crore till March 2009.
In fact, even Goyal’s JetLite has made a Rs 2 crore net profit in the quarter ended June against a net loss of Rs 135 crore in the same quarter last year. Budget carrier Indigo could be in the same league (it has notched up 13.7 per cent market share) but its numbers are not available as it is not a listed company.
Amitabh Malhotra, director of investment banking firm NM Rothschild & Sons said that India is a highly price-sensitive market. In times of downturn, consumers tend to shift from premium to economy, and the churn again favours LCCs. The downturn forced companies to curb travel. If travel is necessary, companies are asking executives to fly budget carriers. Spicejet saw its corporate business growing 65 per cent in Q1.
This shift in traffic also forced a reluctant-Goyal to launch Jet Airways Konnect in May. ‘‘People are willing to travel, so long as it is the lowest logical fare. Jet Airways is better-off being present in this segment,’’ said a company executive.

Source:
Budget carriers fly high in downturnBusiness Standard
Date-30 July 2009
Edition- New Delhi
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/budget-carriers-fly-high-in-downturn/365334/

Americans top list of foreign visitors to India

Even as India reported just a marginal growth in the number of foreign visitors last year as compared to 2007, US citizens continued to be on the top of the list of those who found the country attractive enough to travel.
Latest figures, released by the home ministry, show that India received as many as 52,78,852 foreign visitors in 2008 against 50,96,990 in 2007, an increase of only 1.81 lakh, quite less than what the country witnessed during 2004-07 when it recorded an addition of over five lakh visitors every year. Nevertheless, the flow of visitors from the US remained quite high with the country along with UK accounting for nearly 30% of the total foreigners who visited India last year.
Other countries whose citizens visited India on different visas -- student, employment, business and tourist -- in relatively higher numbers are: Bangladesh, Canada, Sri Lanka, France, Germany, Australia, Japan and Malaysia. Though all those who visited India were not tourists, the statistics show that the majority of them came on short-term visa with single entry. There was a different trend as far as visitors from China were concerned. A large number of Chinese workers, including semi-skilled ones, came on business visa but stayed back to execute various projects in India.
Making the revelation in Lok Sabha during the ongoing Parliament session, minister of state for home Mullappally Ramachandran said: "The matter has been examined and it has been decided that all foreign nationals, including Chinese nationals, coming for executing projects/contracts will be eligible to come on employment visa."
Over 69,000 out of the 98,092 Chinese who visited India in 2008 came on business visa - unlike other countries which generally send ‘tourists’ in high numbers. Visitors from Bangladesh and Pakistan, on the other hand, showed a different trend. Thousands of them who entered India on valid travel documents did not show up after the expiry of their visas during 2005-07, posing a grave security risk with the agencies here not ruling out the possibility of the involvement of a few ‘missing’ ones in terror acts.
The statistics also revealed foreigners' attempt to enter India on the basis of forged travel documents. While 381 of them were caught at different international airports -- Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Amritsar - last year, 366 were arrested in 2007.

Source:

The Times of India
Date-26 July, 2009
Edition- New Delhi

Monsoon spa packages in Goa

Air India has announced two special categories of fares for travel before September 20. NAP- 3 fares are for sectors where no fuel surcharge is applicable. These include Mumbai- Hyderabad (Rs 2,079), Mumbai- Bangalore (Rs 2,779), Mumbai- Delhi (Rs 3,279) and Delhi- Chennai (Rs 3,779) Air India Flights . The second category, which covers 70 destinations called AP- 3, includes Delhi- Hyderabad (Rs 5,399) and Delhi- Bangalore (Rs 5,919). These fares are for one- way tickets and are non- refundable.

Source: Mail Today
Date-26 July, 2009
Edition- New Delhi

Air India Introduces Special Fares

Air India has introduced two types of special fares--NAP-3 and AP-3 on select domestic sectors to encourage air travel during the lean season. Passengers can purchase tickets in these fares up to three days before departure and undertake travel till September 20, 2009.
NAP-3 Fares The newly introduced NAP-3 fares available on 24 domestic sectors on Air India network comprises of basic fare and Passenger Service Fee (PSF). No fuel surcharge is applicable on these fares. The all inclusive one way fare on some of the sectors is as follows: Mumbai-Hyderabad--Rs 2,079 Mumbai-Bangalore--Rs 2,779 Mumbai-Kochi--Rs 3,279 Mumbai-Chennai--Rs 3,279 Mumbai-Delhi--Rs 3,279 Delhi-Chennai--Rs 3,779 AP-3 Fares The special AP-3 fares available on 70 select domestic sectors comprises of basic fare, PSF and fuel surcharge. The all inclusive one way fare of some sectors are: Mumbai-Udaipur--Rs 3,094 Mumbai-Goa--Rs 3,094 Mumbai-Kozhikode--Rs 4,499 Chennai-Goa--Rs 4,499 Mumbai-Trivandrum--Rs 5,399 Chennai-Kolkata--Rs 5,399 Delhi-Hyderabad--Rs 5,399 Mumbai-Kolkata--Rs 5,919 Delhi-Bangalore--Rs 5,919 These fares are non-refundable and would attract a fee of Rs 750 per coupon for re-booking. No frequent flyer points will accrue on these fares. User development fee, wherever applicable, will have to be paid extra by the passenger.

Source:
The PioneerDate-23 July, 2009Edition- New DelhiAppeared on Pg 14

Special fares on Air India

Air India announced special fares on Wednesday on select domestic sectors to attract passengers during the lean season. The tickets under the special fares, which are in two categories, can be purchased up to three days before flying and would be valid till September 20. Under the first category offer, a Mumbai-Hyderabad flight would cost only Rs 2,079. Similarly, a Mumbai-Kochi travel would cost Rs 3,279 and Mumbai-Bangalore Rs 2,779. The second category of special fares offers would be applicable on 70 select domestic routes.

Source:
The Economic TimesDate-23 July, 2009Edition- New DelhiAppeared on Pg 16