The Hindu Business Line : A fare in the air

If you overhear someone talking about deals in the air, don't be misled into thinking that the person is referring to action in the mergers and acquisitions arena. Literally, it could well refer to all the exciting fares that airlines are offering to woo customers.

The proliferation of airlines means the Indian traveller has never had it so good. Your plane journey may hit the occasional air-pocket of turbulent weather, but it certainly won't burn a hole in your pocket.

So if you want to make that quick getaway for three-days and do not want to spend the best part of it on a train, airlines may provide the best bang for your buck.

Let's face it: There is a certain kick that one derives in snagging a ticket from Mumbai to Delhi that costs as much as a cutting chai (excluding taxes, that is)! So, just in case you are wondering how to go about this penny-pinching exercise, we've tried to put together a few basic steps you could follow to get your money to fly you cheap. Here goes...

Plan, plan and plan: A few days ago, players decided to infuse a sense of rationality into their pricing structure by deciding that low-cost and full-fare airlines would charge Rs 2 per km and Rs 2.4 per km respectively.

This automatically sets a floor price for travel between a set of destinations. After all, airlines are attempting to cash-in on the peak season for air travel that commences in November and lasts for the next few months.

But scratch the surface and you'll find that this move does not ring the death-knell for low-cost travel. In case you book your tickets three weeks ahead of your proposed trip, the above pricing structure will not apply and operators have the freedom to price seats at their discretion. Which bring us to the cardinal principle of flying for next-to-nothing: Planning.

Firm up your travel schedule well in advance and then start hunting down the best fares. Most airlines offer you a forward three-month time window to book your tickets. The earlier you plan, the better the chances of snapping up cheap tickets.

Having done so, do ensure that you undertake the trip! For, putting of or cancelling the trip comes at a price. In most cases, tickets booked at the lowest fare do not qualify for refund; even a change of flight will entail a charge. So, while planning is a key priority, execution is equally important to ensure that there are no nasty surprises.

Travel portals: These are Web sites that do the hunting for you by trawling through the sites of flight operators and then throwing up the best fare.

In one click, they provide you with a screenshot of fares offered by various airlines on the sector you want.

Convenient, yes, but do they necessarily throw up the lowest fares all the time? Not necessarily. We ran a check on three such portals and found that only one came up with the rock-bottom fare.

If the idea is to book only tickets (as opposed to drawing up an entire holiday schedule online), it may be best to go to the Web sites of individual operators and look up what's on offer.

This exercise is time-consuming as against visiting a travel portal. But if time is money, the time spent going to the Web sites of various airlines may be well spent. Further, if you're looking to fly on a sector that's known for business traffic (such as Mumbai-Delhi or Bangalore-Mumbai) try and work out a schedule that would allow you to take an off-peak hour (noon/early afternoon or late evening/night). Morning and evening flights on such sectors are usually choc-a-bloc and rates steep.

(Un)fare taxes: This is not a tip to help you lay your hands on a better-priced ticket, but something to watch out for. The good news first: For the next few days, tickets on the Chennai-Bangalore sector (Air Deccan) are going at Rs 74.

Before you rush to your computer to make a reservation, here's the bad news: Taxes and fees are Rs 1,025, adding to an overall fare of Rs 1,099! Ironically, fares were lower last year and the party spoiler this year is the rising fuel cost.

Airlines impose a surcharge to offset such rising costs. The current surcharge of Rs 750 was imposed when crude oil prices were at their peak; they've cooled off by about 25 per cent, but the surcharge remains.

Unfair and in defiance of Sir Isaac Newton, you might argue, but it probably makes for better business. There's nothing you can do about such charges, but it's important you watch out for them, as several sites display rates excluding taxes.

So, there you are. We hope you turn out to be one of those lucky ones who gets to fly at bargain-basement fares.

And the next time a friend of yours tells you how disappointed he was when he rushed to the depot only to find that he'd missed the bus, tell him not to despair. There's always a plane to catch.

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