In a move to bring big relief to the fliers who used to end up paying exorbitant fees on ticket cancellation and excess luggage among others, the Government on Saturday proposed a slew of measures, including recast of air fare refund norms and reduction in excess baggage fee, that will encourage more people to take to air travel.
Suggesting such passenger-centric steps, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said, “The measures followed complaints from passengers that issues concerning them were not getting resolved within a reasonable time.”
The Government has given two weeks to stakeholders to submit their suggestions and comments before finalising and implementing the new norms. “The proposed changes in the excess baggage fee norm will, however, be implemented from June 15,” Director-General of Civil Aviation M Sathiyavathy said.
The changes in the rules are mooted by the Civil Aviation Ministry that will cover domestic and international flights involving domestic carriers against the backdrop of complaints by passengers and cancellation and delays of over 4,000 and 63,400 flights respectively last year.
The Civil Aviation Ministry also said airlines will have to refund all statutory taxes levied in the event of flight cancellations. Aviation regulator DGCA has proposed that under no circumstances should the cancellation charges be more than the basic fare and carriers cannot levy additional charge to process the refund. For checked-in baggage, the airlines would be charging Rs 100 per kg for baggage weight in excess of 15 kg up to 20 kg. At present, Rs 300 is levied for every kg of baggage beyond the 15-kg limit, while only Air India allows free baggage up to 23 kg. With regard to denied boarding, mainly due to overbooking, the Government has proposed compensation of up to Rs 20,000 subject to certain conditions.
While all domestic airlines, including state-owned carrier Air India, refused to comment on the Government’s proposed ‘passenger centric amendments,’ fliers body Air Passengers Association of India (APAI) welcomed the move, saying that the changes brought about after almost a decade will be a ‘big relief’ to the fliers and encourage more people to take to air travel.
As per existing laws, air fares cannot be capped. With the repeal of Air Corporation Act in March 1994, the provision of airfare approval was dispensed with by the Government. Under the prevailing regulation of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, every air transport undertaking engaged in scheduled air services is required to establish tariff, taking into account relevant factors such as the cost of operation, characteristic of service, reasonable profit and the generally prevailing tariff.
However, aviation experts criticised the proposed changes and said it could reverse the engine of growth in the aviation market, which grew fastest in the world last fiscal. In January-March period, 10 Indian carriers accounted for a total of 18,512 delayed flights, according to the data presented in Parliament during the Budget Session.
The Ministry has also proposed measures to help passengers with reduced mobility. “We are extremely happy that the changes that have been mooted will benefit passengers in a big way. It will encourage more people to fly and spur the growth of the domestic aviation market, which has grown fastest in the world,” APAI chief D Sudhakara Reddy said.
Amber Dubey, partner and India head of aerospace and defence at global consultancy KPMG, however, said, “The proposals would have a direct bearing on airline’s bottomline. “The Indian aviation sector is finally coming out of the woods thanks to the low oil prices, rising economy and growing aircraft fleet. It needs 3-4 years of 18-20 per cent annual growth to consolidate and expand; and to recover the huge debt and losses of the past. Care should be taken by the Government not to throttle the aviation sector so much in the name of honouring public sentiments that it takes us back to square one,” Dubey added.
The Government has spent seven months in public consultations on the draft aviation policy, he said, adding, one hopes the Ministry gives at least 4 weeks to the airlines to respond to such drastic provisions”.
For denied boarding and flight cancellations, airline regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also proposed revised compensation structures depending on the arrangement of an alternative flight for the traveller. An amount equal to 200 per cent of booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge subject to the maximum limit of Rs 10,000 would be given in case the carrier arranges the alternative flight within 24 hours of the scheduled departure.
The amount would go up to 400 per cent of booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge and the maximum would be Rs 20,000 where the alternative flight is provided after 24 hours. “In case the passenger does not opt for an alternative flight, refund of full value of ticket and compensation equal to 400 per cent of booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge, subject to maximum of Rs 20,000 will be given,” the regulator said.
According to the watchdog, no compensation would be paid if a passenger is informed about the cancellation at least two weeks before the scheduled departure and if the airline has arranged another flight depending on the passenger’s convenience. This would be applicable, subject to conditions, even in instances where the cancellation has been informed less than two weeks and up to 24 hours before the scheduled departure.