04 March 2013
Kingfisher Airline offers cheapest fares to passengers
Travel portals and Airlines are increasingly attracting passengers by
providing a scheme that offers the cheapest airfares available on a
given route.
But the name of the airline on which the air ticket has been booked is disclosed to the passenger only after he/she makes the payment for the non-refundable ticket.
Some benefited from the scheme while some did not since the scheme was launched about three months ago.
With domestic airfares at an all-time high, flyers doubt whether these schemes work or are they a scam.
"I booked three air tickets on 12 February on the Mumbai-Patna route for travel on April 20 under yatra.com's super saver airfare scheme. After the amount was paid, I was told that I have been booked on Kingfisher," said Ashok Kumar, a HR professional.
Last week, he checked with Kingfisher and found that the airline had stopped operating the flight he was booked on. "When I enquired with yatra.com, they told me the fare will be refunded. That is not the point. I have been cheated, I trusted the portal. They should book me on another airline," said Kumar.
Like Kumar, there could be hundreds of passengers who unknowingly booked on Kingfisher under this blind-booking scheme only to find later that their flights have been cancelled.
But there are passengers who have a different opinion. A passenger who flied to Delhi from Mumbai on Sunday said:
"On Saturday, the cheapest regular fare on offer was about Rs 6,500 on a Kingfisher flight. I did not want to book on this airline, but the next option was on GoAir and it cost Rs 7,400. So I checked makemytrip.com's special fares and found a ticket for Rs 5,700. I was expecting a Kingfisher ticket, but the ticket turned out to be for a GoAir flight," said Jain, adding that in the last one month, he booked at least six flights under the scheme on the Mumbai-Delhi route and all of them turned out to be Kingfisher flights. "But all the flights were operated and so this scheme is a real saver."
The difference between a regular fare and a super saver fare (on an airline other than Kingfisher) can be as high as 50%. This is because Kingfisher has replaced GoAir and SpiceJet as the airline with cheapest fares even in the regular booking category, which was not the case about a month ago.
But the name of the airline on which the air ticket has been booked is disclosed to the passenger only after he/she makes the payment for the non-refundable ticket.
Some benefited from the scheme while some did not since the scheme was launched about three months ago.
With domestic airfares at an all-time high, flyers doubt whether these schemes work or are they a scam.
"I booked three air tickets on 12 February on the Mumbai-Patna route for travel on April 20 under yatra.com's super saver airfare scheme. After the amount was paid, I was told that I have been booked on Kingfisher," said Ashok Kumar, a HR professional.
Last week, he checked with Kingfisher and found that the airline had stopped operating the flight he was booked on. "When I enquired with yatra.com, they told me the fare will be refunded. That is not the point. I have been cheated, I trusted the portal. They should book me on another airline," said Kumar.
Like Kumar, there could be hundreds of passengers who unknowingly booked on Kingfisher under this blind-booking scheme only to find later that their flights have been cancelled.
But there are passengers who have a different opinion. A passenger who flied to Delhi from Mumbai on Sunday said:
"On Saturday, the cheapest regular fare on offer was about Rs 6,500 on a Kingfisher flight. I did not want to book on this airline, but the next option was on GoAir and it cost Rs 7,400. So I checked makemytrip.com's special fares and found a ticket for Rs 5,700. I was expecting a Kingfisher ticket, but the ticket turned out to be for a GoAir flight," said Jain, adding that in the last one month, he booked at least six flights under the scheme on the Mumbai-Delhi route and all of them turned out to be Kingfisher flights. "But all the flights were operated and so this scheme is a real saver."
The difference between a regular fare and a super saver fare (on an airline other than Kingfisher) can be as high as 50%. This is because Kingfisher has replaced GoAir and SpiceJet as the airline with cheapest fares even in the regular booking category, which was not the case about a month ago.
MD JAVED ALAM
PGDM 2ND SEMESTER
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