With the finances of domestic airlines sinking more deeply into the red in recent months, they seem to be leaving no stone unturned to flog their assets for additional revenue. This has given rise to some consumer-unfriendly practices. The latest such move which has evoked the ire of frequent flyers, is the decision by low-cost carriers to levy additional charges for using their web check-in facilities. The airlines’ defence is that the levy applies only to passengers selecting demarcated seats. But this doesn’t cut ice because, in practise, the ‘free’ seats tend to be either severely limited or fully taken. Charging flyers extra for web check-in facilities is irrational because it is physical check-in that entails extra costs for airlines, to operate manned counters at the airports and print out boarding cards. In perennially congested Indian airports, web check-ins also help airlines achieve quicker turnarounds and on-time performance. This move is as retrograde as the convenience fee imposed on online ticket booking — a strange practise where the industry charges consumers for using its service.

Though the Ministry of Civil Aviation has promised to review the web check-in policies of airlines after this fracas, it should review the entire gamut of unbundled airline services, so that basic terms of service are left in no doubt. Unbundling of fares for opt-in services such as preferential seating, meals, use of lounge facilities and extra baggage is the global norm for no-frills carriers. But then, low-cost carriers must not be allowed to carry this to an extreme by slapping charges on services that passengers cannot do without. More so in the Indian context where fare differentials are minuscule between so-called low cost and full-service carriers. While at it, the regulator must also hold airlines to account for their failing grievance redressal mechanisms and specify compensation for fundamental service deficiencies.

It is true that much of the decline in airline service standards can be traced to the irrational tariffs that have boxed the carriers into a tight corner. A recent Crisil study noted that Indian airlines were staring at the biggest losses in a decade, as air fares have significantly lagged their soaring costs on fuel and rent. But if some of the industry’s problems can be traced to such extraneous factors, some are also self-made. Indian carriers are currently in the midst of a fleet expansion binge funded by dollar debt which has made their finances doubly vulnerable to rupee depreciation. While leaving air fares to market forces, policy-makers must do more to reduce entry barriers to the domestic skies. With Air India perennially on life support, Jet Airways under financial stress and IndiGo steadily gaining market share, Indian aviation is threatening to turn into two-horse race, in which the winner will certainly not be the consumer.

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