SpiceJet is giving wing to an innovative marketing idea through its Flexibility Reward Option.

The airline will pay you between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500 if there is huge demand for the flight you are booked on if you are willing to surrender it and take another flight.

The carrier will pay you the money and resell your ticket to another passenger.

SpiceJet has collaborated with travel options company Optiontown to extend this and other offers. Optiontown makes use of mathematical algorithms to create favourable options for airlines and passengers.

To avail of the Flexibility Reward Option, a passenger can buy a ticket from any source and then visit either the airline’s Web site or Optiontown’s Web site.

After registering, the passenger can see which other flights are available and how much he will be paid if he takes an alternative flight.

The alternative ticket will be available at the same rate as the original ticket.

This offer is part of SpiceJet’s Flexifly package, which includes a few other offers. For instance, it also allows a flyer the option of paying to have one or two seats next to him empty. Another offer allows him to switch to another flight.

While the Flexibility Reward Option is free, to block seats or switch flights, a passenger will have to follow the same procedure but pay Rs 50. The charge for blocking a seat varies with the distance travelled and could range between Rs 250 and Rs 900.

“It is not in the thousands of rupees,” says Sachin Goel, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Optiontown.

Commenting on the initiative, V. Raja, Vice President, Commercial, SpiceJet, said that the average seat factor for a low cost airline is between 76-82 per cent. “There is about 20 per cent capacity available. I am playing with this capacity, so that the existing option goes to someone who may want to avail of it.”

While a flyer has to pay up front for these services, in case the airline is unable to provide them, it will refund the money within five working days.

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