Excess baggage fee in domestic flights may see 300% hike

Agencies
August 18, 2017

New Delhi, Aug 18: Economy class passengers carrying more than 15kg check-in baggage on domestic flights may now have to pay almost thrice as much for the first five kilos.

Low cost carrier (LCC) SpiceJet is considering raising the Rs 500 pre-booking charge for carrying 20kg to Rs 1,425.

Hikes are also being contemplated for pre-booking in other weight bands beyond 20kg. Moreover, those checking-in more than 15kg without pre-booking may end up shelling out Rs 300 per kg.

"This is a proposal that we are considering. A final decision will be taken shortly," said a SpiceJet source. The new charges, if finalised, will be implemented from Friday itself. The move comes after the Delhi high court stuck down DGCA's order of Rs 100 per kg cap on excess baggage fee for the 15-20kg band on Wednesday. A senior DGCA official said, "We are studying the HC order to see the reasons why our order has been set aside. We will take legal opinion and then decide on whether to go in for an appeal against the HC order."

Other airlines are likely to follow suit. Only Air India said that economy class domestic flyers can check-in up to 25kg without a charge.

Even if airlines do not hike their existing charges, the impact on flyers checking-in 20kg can be significant if they implement the charge kept for beyond 20kg to beyond 15kg now. For instance, two low cost carriers (LCC) charge Rs 300 and Rs 350 per kg as excess baggage fee for domestic travel beyond the allowed limit. A full service airline charges Rs 500 per kg from economy passengers carrying beyond 20kg.

The higher charges used to start from over 20 kg due to the DGCA cap of Rs 100 on the 15-20 kg band. Now with that set aside, airlines are free to charge the higher fees they had for over 20 kg check-in baggage from over 15 kg itself now. No airline formally commented on what their policy for excess check-in baggage fees will be after Wednesday's HC order. "We are just waiting for someone to make the first move and then the rest will follow. Only AI can offer higher baggage limit as the airline is headed in a different direction (referring to impending sell off),"said an airline official.

AirAsia India, when launched in 2014, did not want to give any free check-in baggage to passengers and was directed by DGCA to allow 15 kg check-in baggage - like all other Indian carriers -to domestic flyers without any extra fee. 

"We welcome this change proposed by the Delhi High court on the excess baggage fees. We will however evaluate this internally and see how this can be beneficial to both the guests as well as the airline, as we continue our endeavor to make flying affordable for all,"AirAsia India said in a statement.

Comments

Wellwisher
 - 
Friday, 18 Aug 2017

All price hike to be with Indian Air Act Limoration. Air Lines has no right to hike any flight charge. Dear brothers please study about implemented by the Central Goverment.

 

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News Network
January 18,2020

Jan 18: Days after the arrest of Deputy SP Davinder Singh along with two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, Shiv Sena on Saturday questioned the role of police in the Kashmir Valley.

"Cross border infiltration is ongoing in Kashmir. But the police machinery is being used to help the terrorists in Kashmir to safely cross the border (to Pakistan) and a President's medal awarded Deputy SP was arrested for doing so. In Kashmir (it seems), the government is using the police for some other purposes, what will the country's Home Ministry say if somebody has a doubt in connection with the Pulwama attacks," Sena mouthpiece, Saamna, read.

This was in reference to the incident in which Jammu and Kashmir police intercepted a vehicle on Sunday and arrested DySP Davinder Singh along with two top Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, who were travelling together.

The Sena mouthpiece asserted that the impact and acceptance of the Centre removing Article 370 should be visible "through the people" during the upcoming Republic Day celebrations.

"Jammu and Kashmir is now a Union Territory. It is being ruled by the Centre through President's Rule. The government had removed Article 370 in a historic decision...The joy and excitement in the people over the removal of 370 should be visible in the Republic Day celebrations this time. The tricolour should be seen flying over all houses in Kashmir, it is the least that can be expected," it added.

The Sena mouthpiece further said that with the arrest of terrorists in the recent days, it hoped that "Republic Day will be celebrated safely in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir".

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News Network
January 24,2020

Kochi/Mumbai, Jan 24: Two students who recently returned from China have been kept under medical observation at the Ernakulam Government Medical College here for possible exposure to the coronavirus, an outbreak of which in China has triggered a global health scare.

Reports from Mumbai said two persons there too have been put observation at the civic-run Kasturba Hospital in Chinchpokali, PTI reported.

Health officials said no cases of the deadly infection have been detected.

One of the students being screened in Kerala and both being screen in Mumai have reported symptoms such as cold and fever and has been kept in isolation wards.

The additional district medical officer of Ernakulam, Dr S Sreedevi, said samples of the student’s body fluids would be sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for tests.

The youngster consulted a doctor at a private hospital and was referred to the Ernakulam hospital in the wake of the virus outbreak in Wuhan city of China.

A stringent screening system has been set up at the Kochi International Airport to screen passengers who have been in the affected province in China. Persons who have been to Wuhan and showing symptoms of cold, cough and fever are being immediately shifted to the Ernakulam hospital.

All quariantine facilities have been put in place there including an isolation ward and a ventilator.

The other person under observation in Kerala is an MBBS student from Kottayam district who recently returned from his college in China. The district medical office said she has no health issues. She was put under observation as a precautionary measure.

In Mumbai, 1,789 passengers have undergone thermal screening at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for the coronavirus since January 19.

Coronavirus cases were first reported from Wuhan, the capital of central Chinas Hubei province in China.

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in China, doctors at international airports have been asked to screen travellers for symptoms if they are returning from China. All private doctors have been asked to alert the authorities if they observe symptoms of the coronavirus.

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News Network
August 7,2020

New Delhi, Aug 7: The Congress on Thursday demanded the removal of Karnataka minister KS Eshwarappa from the cabinet and his arrest for his statement that grand Krishna and Vishwanath temples would come up in Mathura and Kashi respectively after "liberating" them.

Mr Eshwarappa made the statement while reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi laying the foundation of the Ram temple in Ayodhya yesterday.

"By asking kar sevaks (volunteers) to launch a similar campaign, the minister (Eshwarappa) is trying to disturb peace in the society," Congress Karnataka unit chief DK Shivakumar said at a press conference in Ballari today.

"Such people should be arrested immediately, police officials should register a case against him and the Chief Minister should remove him from the cabinet,"he said.

Rural Development and Panchayat Raj minister Eshwarappa had said on Wednesday that he was of the firm opinion that "if not today, tomorrow, Mathura and Kashi temples will be liberated and grand temples would be built there."

"A place of devotion has to be built in both Kashi and Mathura. There too, grand temples have to be constructed. The mosques have to be removed from there," he said.

Mr Eshwarappa, a former BJP state president, said the centres of Hindu belief, Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura were a kind of a symbol of "slavery" as "temples of our Rama, Krishna and Vishwanath were destroyed and mosques built."

Stating that Mr Eshwarappa is not an individual but a minister who represents the government, Mr Shivakumar on Thursday sought to know from the Chief Minister whether this was his government's stand.

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