Domestic Air Tickets

Web sites of TAVEL BOOKING have welcomed the decrease of domestic flight cancellations fees. Lower cancellations fees allow passengers traveling shorter distances to postpone cancellations without worrying about lost moneys. Monday, the web sites of many airline companies that had quoted a 3,000 Rus cancellations charge showed the updated cancellations fees - "3,000 Rus or basic rate plus per capita petrol supplement, whichever is lower".

That should relieve the burden on those who buy inexpensive airline tickets in anticipation, but end up loosing cash while canceling them. It comes after the Minister of State of the Union for Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha, recently expressed his concerns about the domestic 3,000 rupee reversal charge, which is "too high".

In many cases, he had said that the cancelation penalty exceeds the cost of the tickets themselves and demanded that the cancelation penalty be rebalanced. DGCA then sent a letter to the carriers asking them to submit information on cancellations. According to the regulations, the cancelation fees may not be higher than the total of the basic tariff and petrol supplement.

"In a step that will definitely delight travellers, domestic carriers have reworked their cancelation fees... They will now have to calculate the basic rate plus petrol supplement or MSRP 3,000 per traveller, whichever is lower. It will be a breather for travellers, especially for those who make their reservations well in advance in order to get lower fares.

The move will also help to reduce complaints from customers, who are largely concerned with the question of the level of fees charged for cancellations," said Sharat Dhall, COO (B2C), Yatra.com. "The higher cancelation charge would often prevent us from canceling our tickets out of concern that we might have to claim an additional amount... This choice will give us encouragement to do so if there is a plan shift.

Air carriers, such as Indigo, Vistara and Go Air, have said that their cancellations fees are always in accordance with DGCA regulations.