Airlines themselves earn less from the final price paid by passengers. (File Photo)
Airlines’ social media teams often explain the various fees that apply when booking a flight ticket, pointing out that many of these fees are collected on behalf of other agencies and passed on to them. The airlines themselves make less from the final price paid by passengers. However, complaints about “overpriced” flight tickets continue to create a stir on social media, especially during festivals when air traffic increases.
In the latest such incident, a passenger travelling from Lucknow to Bengaluru expressed frustration over the numerous charges “that IndiGo levies”. In a post on X, he said, “What is this ‘cute fee’? Are you charging users for being cute? Or are you charging because you think your planes are cute?”
Dear @IndiGo6E ,1. What is this “pretty fee”? Do you charge users for being pretty? Or do you charge because you think your planes are pretty?
2. What is this “user development fee”? How do you develop me when I travel on your plane?
3. What is this “Aviation… photo.twitter.com/i4jWvXh6UM
— Shrayansh Singh (@_shrayanshsingh) August 19, 2024
While everyone is familiar with the basic airfare, which is the fee paid by a passenger for air travel, the imposition of GST on airline tickets represents a major source of revenue for the government. GST funds contribute to the development of aviation infrastructure, ensuring safer and more efficient travel experiences for passengers.
However, there are other charges that passengers may not be familiar with. The most common charges are listed below:
LINDA Rate: Common User Terminal Equipment (CUTE) charges include fees for the use of metal detector machines, escalators, and other equipment at airports. The CUTE fee is sometimes also referred to as a passenger handling fee.
Aviation Security Fee (ASF): This cess is used to pay the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is tasked with guarding most of the major airports in the country, except for a few that have Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) flights and are under the jurisdiction of the state police. Notably, the ASF differs for domestic and international passengers. The ASF is applicable only to departing passengers, not arriving ones, with a few exceptions. Children below two years of age, travelling on infant fares and not getting a full seat, are exempt from the ASF. Also exempt are those with diplomatic passports, persons travelling on duty on Indian Air Force aircraft, personnel travelling on United Nations peacekeeping missions, airline crews on duty and air marshals.
User Development Fee (UDF): This fee is charged at airports as a measure to increase the airport operator’s revenue. The UDF is levied to cover any revenue shortfall, ensuring that the airport operator can achieve a fair rate of return on investment. The amount of the UDF varies from airport to airport.
Regional connectivity rate: This fee is charged on departure of aircraft with Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) exceeding 40 tonnes, except on routes in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
Seat fare: The rationale behind this charge is to enable airlines to offer more competitive ticket prices to passengers who are indifferent to seat assignment, thereby promoting affordability in air travel. If the seat assignment price is high and a passenger chooses not to select a seat during web check-in, the airline will eventually assign him or her a seat at no additional cost. The Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs has asked airlines not to label all seats as paid during the web check-in process. This practice has been criticised for undermining consumer autonomy and influencing decision-making.
First published: August 20, 2024 | 11:01 a.m. IS
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the post for any purpose.
We respect the intellectual property rights of content creators. If you are the owner of any material featured on our website and have concerns about its use, please contact us. We are committed to addressing any copyright issues promptly and will remove any material within 2 days of receiving a request from the rightful owner.