This is huge! More updates on the new civil aviation policy, from the minister himself!

Earlier this week, we brought you some updates on the new Civil Aviation policy that is to be announced in the coming weeks. And this morning, the Minister for Civil Aviation, Ashok Gajapathy Raju, made announcements about several proposed changes in the new policy, which is expected to be announced in the next ten days. If these changes go through, customers should generally be a happy lot, though the same cannot be said of India's airline operators. Let's take a look at these announcements.


To address the proposed changes better, let's take a look at the changes classified by their nature.

Refund of fares paid

First, and the biggest of them, is that refunds will apply on all fares, including promotional fares and special fares.
It will also now be the airline's responsibility to ensure that passengers get their refunds within 15 days, even if they've booked through OTAs or other intermediaries.
All taxes, fees, UDF, PSF, etc will also be refunded in case of no-shows and cancellations. While this is generally not a problem with most airlines, there are lapses, particularly when tickets are booked through intermediaries. Also, some airlines didn't consider PSF/UDF as a pass-through, but as an entitlement (though in reality, this applies only if the passenger actually used the terminal!).
Airlines can no longer automatically provide a credit to passengers, usable against subsequent bookings. Several airlines do this at present, particularly for cancellations and, in some cases, compensation for deficiencies (such as delays).
The point here is that credit can still be given (which helps airlines avoid cash payouts) provided that is what the passenger wants.

And finally,
Basically, the maximum cancellation charge can be the base fare, with no additional cancellation charges.

Compensation aspects

Here are the changes with respect to airlines compensating passengers for various service deficiencies.

Passengers denied boarding due to the airline overbooking and overselling seats, will be entitled to compensation of up to Rs 20,000. Previously, airlines would be able to get away by returning the entire fare alone.
I like this next one. Airlines must compensate up to Rs 10,000 per passenger, if they cancel a flight within 24 hours of its scheduled departure time. This puts significant stress on airlines to ensure that all announced flights actually run.
However, I believe the above point on delays is a matter of reducing concern, going by this tweet from the minster just over a week ago.


Others

Currently, the rules require 15 kg of free baggage allowance. Air India tops this by default, providing a generous 25 kgs across all fare classes and travel classes. However, airlines charge normal excess baggage charges. In a move to make these more nominal, there's a proposal to cap charges on the first 5 kg of excess baggage (ie, over 15 kg) to Rs 100 per kg.
Finally, persons with disabilities may get better treatment at airports and on flights.
This last one, if you ask me, is more aimed at airports and airport operators, than at airlines. I say that because I've seen airlines (even Air India's often surly staff) treat persons with disabilities well, often going over and beyond expected service levels. As an example, on my SpiceJet flight yesterday from Delhi to Mumbai, there was a blind passenger in the seat across the aisle from me, who was travelling alone. The crew were absolutely fantastic in the way they treated him!

We will continue to watch out for the developments in this regard, so do watch this space!

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