Soon passengers may not be left with much room regarding their preferred "window" or "aisle" seat on a plane, as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has put a cap on 'preferred seats' available in each flight, asking airlines to book only 25 per cent of the total seats in the aircraft.
The Civil Aviation Ministry had in April allowed 'unbundling' of some services, like seat preferences or meals on board, with aim to help airlines to earn ancillary revenue.
The regulator said the unbundled services must be provided on 'opt-in' and not on 'opt-out' basis.
"Seats offered on opt-in charge basis shall not exceed 25 per cent of the total seat configuration of the aircraft. Middle seats shall not be offered for preferential seating except for the seats in the first row and the emergency exit row," the DGCA said in a notification issued on Saturday.
The Government had allowed airlines to charge passengers for preferential seating, meals, snacks, drinks (barring drinking water), check-in baggages, use of airline lounges, carriage of sports equipment and musical instruments.
AirAsia to start India operations later this year
Chennai :Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia on Saturday said its Indian operations should begin later this year with flights for southern region and the company would also look at setting up some ancillary businesses in the country.
“We are hopeful of starting Indian operations later this year with three aircraft serving Southern region,” AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes told reporters here.The airline would expand its services to other parts of the country in the second stage, he said.AirAsia would also look at setting up ancillary services like air travel insurance and duty free shops in the country, said Fernandes who came to Chennai this morning.