IndiGo, Jet announce charges for seats & extra baggage

Days after the ministry of civil aviation allowed the unbundling of fares, Jet Airways on Thursday announced that it was bringing down the free check-in baggage from 20 to 15kg and would charge a flat rate of Rs 250 for baggage over and above the free baggage allowance.

However the weight limit on check-in baggage remains unchanged at 7kg. Meanwhile, low-cost carrier Indigo, will charge a premium for seats in the first 2 rows and close to the emergency exits, charging Rs 500 on preferential routes on domestic routes and Rs 800 on international routes.

Pre-booking a seat in the first two rows or near emergency exits in 12 and 13th row in an IndiGo flight will cost passengers more with the airline deciding to charge a premium for these seats. The low cost airline will charge the passenger a premium of Rs 500 for sitting in rows one, two, 12 and 13 on a domestic flight and Rs 800 for an international flight under its Indigo Seat Plus plan.

Though the airline has not indicated from when it would start charging the new rates, but in a circular to travel agents it said for all other window and aisle seats, which are pre-booked, a passenger would be charged Rs 200 for a domestic and Rs 300 for an international flight.

While pre-booking all other middle seats would cost Rs 100 on a domestic and Rs 200 on an international flights. Last week, the DGCA had allowed airlines to charge fees for 'unbundled services' like check-in baggage, preferential seats, meals, snacks or drink (barring drinking water) and sports and musical instruments on their domestic flights.

IndiGo has followed the footsteps of Air India, which last week had announced lowering of the free baggage allowance from 20 to 15 kgs on the domestic sector. The national carrier had decided to charge a flat rate of about Rs 200-250 per kg on excess weight. The excess baggage charges currently vary between Rs 150-400 per kg depending upon the sector. The airline is also contemplating levying charges for preferred seats.