‘Zero baggage’ fares may not fly

Any drop in fare is generally welcomed whole-heartedly by travellers but the new hand luggage-only, or ‘zero baggage’, fares have neither airlines nor flyers excited.

At present, only budget carrier SpiceJet is offering zero baggage fares, wherein passengers get a ₹200 discount for not carrying check-in baggage. But does that really flying cheaper? Probably not.

“In the present context the zero baggage charge does not benefit the flyer. There are times when fares on carriers that allow free baggage are much cheaper than airlines that have a zero baggage charge,” said John Nair, Head - Corporate Travel, Cox & Kings. “It would only make a difference if the fares vary by a wide margin. A small drop in charges will not act as an incentive for customers to switch to airlines that have a zero baggage charge.”

At present all domestic airlines except national carrier Air India allow a flyer to carry up to 15 kg of check-in baggage without any cost — Air India allows up to 23 kg. In some cases, Air India still turns out cheaper than the zero baggage fares.

While allowing these fares, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) clarified that it has to be an opt-in facility, which means if a traveller doesn’t want to go for zero baggage, the regular fare, which will be only ₹200 more, will be available for him. Airlines can’t even fix the number of seats for zero-baggage flyers, limiting the impact of the new fares.

For airlines, even the baggage load may not reduce significantly, as smart Indians have already started maximising their hand baggage limit.

“Indians have a remarkable way of adapting to limitations and challenges. Low-cost carriers have seen increasing load factors despite lowering their baggage allowances or introducing tickets with ‘hand baggage only’, with passengers increasing their hand baggage to the maximum,” said Indiver Rastogi, Chief Operating Officer at Thomas Cook India.

On the other hand, international low-cost carriers such as Europe’s Ryan Air and US’ SouthWest do not allow any check-in baggage with their standard fare, which allows them to reduce weight and thus save fuel.

Customers often end up paying over half the flight cost if they decide to check in their baggage later. This allows the airline to plan its fuel better and improve on-time arrival as well.

In India, however, carriers are not allowed to charge a premium for check-in luggage.

“The penalty to be imposed on a passenger who avails such schemes but turns up with baggage for check-in at the airline counter, cannot exceed the amount of incentive offered compared to the lowest fare,” a recent DGCA circular said.

This means a passenger who changes his mind after booking the ticket can’t be charged more than ₹200 for check-in baggage up to 15 kg.

Three domestic carriers — IndiGo, SpiceJet and AirAsia India — had earlier approached the regulator with zero baggage schemes. However, apart from SpiceJet, none has taken a call to launch the special fares.

Airlines that are keen to launch zero baggage fares are taking time to figure out a strategy around strict DGCA norms.

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