Spicejet increases its ticket cancellation charges

Budget carrier SpiceJet has revised upward its ticket cancellation charges by almost Rs 100 and will be applicable from next month.
The Gurgaon-based airline at present charges Rs 1,800 as cancellation fee for a domestic ticket and Rs 2,250 for an international booking.
The revised cancellation charges would be Rs 1,899 and Rs 2,349, respectively, from February 1, a SpiceJet official said.
AirAsia India, another budget airline, has so far the lowest ticket cancellation charges among the peer airlines.
IndiGo, which has a low-cost business model and was recently listed on the bourses, charges up to Rs 2,500 for cancelling an international ticket and up to Rs 2,250 for a domestic ticket.

(REOPEN DEL55)

On the issue of Government's ambitious regional connectivity scheme UDAN, Singh said the airline fully supports the scheme but is opposed to the imposition of levy. "We oppose the levy because it will increase the cost for consumers."
UDAN (Ude Desh Ke Aam Naagrik) scheme, under which fares have been capped at Rs 2,500 for a one-hour flight, aims at boosting air connectivity to and from unserved and under-served airports and making flying more affordable.
Under UDAN, the participating airlines would be extended VGF -- that would be jointly funded by the Centre and the state government concerned. Towards VGF, the government has started charging Rs 8,500 levy per departure of flights on major routes. However, airlines have challenged the charging of levy in the court.

SpiceJet feels that the money for the scheme should be paid either by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) which is the nodal implementing agency for the scheme or through other government sources, he said.
The SpiceJet CMD also said that DIAL should give the airlines more time for shifting operations to T2 from the existing domestic terminal for its expansion work.
This is not the most efficient way because flights get split, he said, adding, "Give a little more for aligning operations."
GMR-led Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has asked SpiceJet and another budget carrier IndiGo to relocate their operations from Terminal-1, out of which they are currently operating, to Terminal -2 so that the expansion work can begin.