From airlines to hotels, ways to lower charges if you cancel a trip

For airlines, opt for flexi fare or cancellation insurance. Call hotels directly and negotiate with managers

Last-minute cancellations can be costly because of the high penalties that airlines charge. Take the example of Nishant Hegde and his wife, who had to cancel their four-day holiday to the Maldives last year in November. The return tickets from Mumbai to Male cost him Rs 35,176 for two. He got back Rs 12,782, losing 64 per cent of the money spent on tickets.

The new passenger charter, introduced in March this year, didn’t do much to tackle the high cancellation charges by airlines. “Besides being a legacy issue, the charges continue to be high, as the airline would find it