Air India has reduced the free carry-on baggage allowance from 20 kg to 15 kg on the lowest economy class fare for domestic flights. The changes are part of a menu-based pricing model fare range introduced by Tata Group-owned Air India in August last year, with the airline claiming that a one-size-fits-all approach is no longer ideal.
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Before the launch of the fare series concept, passengers on Air India’s domestic flights could carry 25 kg of carry-on baggage free of charge, while other domestic airlines such as IndiGo, Vistara and SpiceJet allowed 15 kg of carry-on baggage free of charge.
An Air India spokesperson said on Saturday that the three fare groups – Comfort, Comfort Plus and Flex – offer different levels of benefits and fare restrictions at different price points.
According to a statement from the airline, the free carry-on baggage allowance has been reduced from 20kg and 25kg to 15kg in the ‘Comfort’ and ‘Comfort+’ categories respectively from May 2.
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“In Economy Class on domestic routes, both the ‘Comfort’ and ‘Comfort Plus’ fare families now offer a 15kg baggage allowance, while ‘Flex’ offers a 25kg baggage allowance. The Business Class baggage allowance on domestic routes is 25kg to 35 kg. The free baggage allowance for international flights varies by market,” a spokesman for the airline said.
In addition, the spokesperson emphasized that the fare series is designed to allow passengers to choose the fares and services that best suit their needs based on their different preferences.
Elaborating on the price structure, airline officials said the spread between ‘Comfort Plus’ and ‘Flex’ fares is typically around $Domestic flights such as Delhi-Mumbai are priced at 1,000 pax and ‘Flex’ fares offer fares of nearly $1,000 $USD 9,000 including 10kg of extra baggage and zero change or cancellation fees.
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The spokesperson added that the launch of the fare range is in response to customer feedback and comprehensive research by Air India, and is benchmarked against the offerings of relevant competitors in each market where it is introduced.
(Inputs from PTI)