Passengers travelling with just hand baggage will pay Rs200 less than the normal fare per one-way flight
New Delhi : Despite the government nixing the budget carriers’ proposal to charge for check-in baggage, SpiceJet offered a discount for “Zero bag” passengers on its domestic flights. The airline, however, said that those who book tickets at discounted fares but later decide to check-in luggage would have to pay a fee of Rs 500 for up to 10 kg and Rs 750 for up to 15 kg baggage. At present, a flyer is allowed to carry up to 15 kg check-in baggage without any cost.
Under the new fare, passengers with hand baggage only and who book tickets at least 30 days in advance, will pay Rs 200 less than the normal SpiceSaver fare per one-way flight. For a round trip the discount can be as high as Rs 1000, the release said. Hand-baggage allowance, however, remains the same as before. This allows a passenger to carry one handbag of up to seven kg per passenger and a standard-sized shoulder laptop bag or ladies purse, it said.
“With the introduction of this fare, we are passing on the savings of carrying less weight to the most price sensitive passengers who have hand baggage only, and are incentivizing more passengers to book early and travel light,” SpiceJet chief operating officer Sanjiv Kapoor said. “Historically travellers with no check-in luggage have indirectly subsidised those passengers who have luggage to check-in,” he added.
Last week, MoS for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma had asked aviation regulator DGCA not to accept a plea by three no-frills carriers – IndiGo, AirAsia India and SpiceJet – to charge from their passengers for check-in baggage. The government is not in favour of putting this burden on the passengers.
This was contested by the airline on the grounds that such a provision is already in place since March this year. Turning down the airlines application on the issue, Mahesh Sharma had said such a move would be an additional burden on the passengers.
