If you’re flying light, you’ll soon have to pay less

If you’re travelling on a domestic flight without a checked-in bag, you’ll soon be paying less for your ticket.

The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is working on rules for ‘zero-bag fares’ for domestic airlines. These fares are lower than what one has to pay while travelling with checked-in baggage.

The introduction of zero-bag fares, however, will not affect a passenger’s existing right to carry cabin baggage free of cost, a senior DGCA official said. At present, domestic airlines allow passengers to carry 5-7 kg as hand baggage free of charge.

The genesis of zero-bag fares lies in low-cost airlines IndiGo, SpiceJet and AirAsia, which approached the DGCA for its approval to introduce such fares.

If introduced, a passenger will have to specifically state at the time of booking a ticket on a domestic airline that he/she wants to travel without check-in bags, after which the airline will offer a special fare, a senior DGCA official told the media.

“The lighter you fly the higher the discount you are likely to get,” the DGCA official added.

The exact date for implementation of this proposal is yet to be finalised as the DGCA has found several ambiguities in the data provided by the airlines, the official added.

“There was no standardisation of the discounts being offered and some airlines did not mention the discounts they plan to offer. We have sought additional details from low-cost airlines on their discounting. In addition, we have also written to full-service airlines Jet and Air India seeking their views on the issue,” the official said.

Mittu Chandilya, Chief Executive Officer, AirAsia India, had earlier told Business Line that if the DGCA allows proper unbundling of fares, which includes offering passengers travelling without a checked-in bag a specific fare, then AirAsia’s fares would be 40-50 per cent lower than the base fares of other domestic airlines.