Hyderabad: Look carefully at the airline announcements of cheap fares. They could sometimes work out to be costlier than the normal fares. A few airlines have recently announced different schemes offering ‘family pack’, bulk booking and anniversary special offers at ticket prices ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 20.
What the airlines don’t usually advertise is that they also collect a thorny bouquet of charges that include Airline Fuel Surcharge, Common Use Terminal Equipment Fee, Passenger Service Fee, User Development Fee, Service Tax and Krishi Kalyan Cess. Those flying abroad also have to pay a Civil Aviation Authority Fee.
Mr L. Raghavendra, a city resident, said he was tempted by an airline advertisement of basic fare below Rs 15 and tried to book two seats for a round trip to Kochi to travel in July, when the offer kicked in.
“Upon checking the airline’s website, the airline billed me Rs 2,270 as basic charge, followed by CUTE Fee (Rs 100), AFS (Rs 1,050), PSF (Rs 460), UDF (Rs 990), ST (Rs 198) and Krishi Kalyan Cess (Rs 6). The total charge was Rs 5,074,” he told this newspaper. “The airline charged Rs 3,024 for the return journey. When I compared the charges with other airlines, the fare was Rs 3,400 for two persons for the onward journey and Rs 3,200 for the return journey,” he said.
Mr G. Radha Krishna from Madhapur said advertisements posted on the Internet by airlines were followed by negative comments by netizens. “Airlines are short of cash and advance booking helps them maintain revenue stability,” he said.
Experts speak
- Don’t compare airline fares on travel websites. They are not regularly updated and may show older fares. The new fares kick in when the booking is being made.
- Google offers a quick and easy comparison of flight charges and the data is updated.
- Book the onward and return tickets on the same airline. Airlines offer discounts on return fares.
- Some airlines have additional surcharges.
