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.

 

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
January 6,2020

Lucknow, Jan 6: Undeterred by the large scale protests that claimed as many as 20 lives in the state, Uttar Pradesh government has started the process of implementing the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

According to sources in the government, the district magistrates have been directed to identify the migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, who have been living in their districts.

Sources said that the state home department has given oral instructions to the district magistrates. ''No written orders have been issued,'' said a senior official here preferring anonymity.

The official said that the district magistrates would be preparing a list containing names of those minorities, who had migrated from these countries following their persecution and had been living without obtaining the citizenship of India.

According to sources, the government expected that the migrants, who could be eligible for the Indian citizenship in accordance with the CAA, could be more in number in the districts, including Rampur, Ghaziabad, Shahjahanpur, Lucknow and some others.

''The list will be sent to the union home ministry,'' the official added.

Sources said that the state government will also inform the centre about the ''illegal Muslim migrants'' for their ultimate deportation to their countries of origin.

Different parts of UP had witnessed large scale violence last month during the protests against the CAA. At least 20 people, mostly youngsters, were killed allegedly in police firing and many others were injured. The state government had denied the charge. 

Alleged police excesses during and after the protests triggered a nationwide outrage with several rights organisations and activists slamming the BJP government and demanding a high-level probe into the allegations.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
February 11,2020

New Delhi, Feb 11: With Election Commission">Election Commission's trends indicating a landslide victory for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), party chief Arvind Kejriwal expressed his gratitude towards the people of the national capital and said that this is the victory of the people who consider him as their son.

Making his first public appearance after the day's results, Kejriwal made a brief address to supporters in which, AAP chief thanked supporters, outlined his personal connection with citizens and party workers as well as credited his family for their continued support.

"I thank people of Delhi for reposing their faith in AAP for the third time. This is not my personal victory, this is the victory of Delhiites. This the victory of the people who consider me as their son and voted for us," Kejriwal said at party office here.

He also referred to the trends of the assembly polls, as the beginning of a new kind of politics.

"This is the beginning of a new kind of politics. This is a new sign. Only the party will get vote who will built mohalla clinics and good schools... This is the victory of mother India and India. Today is Tuesday, Hanuman-ji's day. Hanumanji ji blessed Delhi today, I thank him. We pray that Hanuman Ji keeps showing the right path to us so that we continue to serve people for the next five years," he said.

According to Election Commission", AAP won 5 seats while the party is leading on 58 seats in 70-member Delhi Assembly. 

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 18,2020

New Delhi, Jan 18: Senior advocate Indira Jaising urged the mother of Nirbhaya to pardon the men on death row who were convicted for the 2012 gang rape of her daughter.

Jaising took to Twitter to make the request shortly after Asha Devi on Friday expressed her disappointment following a Delhi court postponed the date of the execution of the four convicts.

"While I fully identify with the pain of Asha Devi I urge her to follow the example of Sonia Gandhi who forgave Nalini and said she didn't not want the death penalty for her. We are with you but against the death penalty," Jaisingh tweeted.

Asha Devi lashed out at Jaisingh suggesting pardon for the convicts. "I can't believe how Indira Jaising even dared to suggest such this. I met her many times over the years in Supreme Court, not once she asked for my wellbeing and today, she is speaking for convicts. Such people earn livelihood by supporting rapists, hence rape incidents don't stop," Asha Devi told ANI.

Nalini was arrested and convicted for her role in the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.

Earlier on Friday Asha Devi had lashed out at the courts and the government stating that "the same people who had in the year 2012 gone around participating in rallies and raised slogans for women's safety are playing with the death of my daughter for their political gains. They have stopped the execution for their political gains."

The death-row convicts who were earlier slated to be executed on January 22 at 7 am are set to be hanged on February 1 at 6 am.

Asha Devi rued that the convicts got what they wished for. "I will not be satisfied until they are hanged," she added.

Four convicts, Vinay, Akshay, Pawan and Mukesh were convicted and sentenced to death for raping a 23-year-old woman in a moving bus in the national capital on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012.

The victim, who was later given the name Nirbhaya succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Singapore where she had been airlifted for medical treatment.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.