Jet Airways - INR & deccan online booking

Hi, have been reading on here that foreigners to India and Indian residents should now pay the same price for flights. Has anyone been able to do this with Jet's online booking system? I just phoned their UK number and they said that I can NOT book a fair in rupees! These fares are MUCH cheaper than the fares quoted in pounds!
Can anyone shed some light on this, has anyone books a rupee ticket anyway?

Also, I am having big problems booking some Air Deccan flights if anyone can help with that?

It is turning out to be a bit of a nightmare getting some flights organised to meet up with my girlfriend and go to the Andaman Islands with her, we are trying to do it as cheaply as possible.

Cheers,

Tom.

Forget Jet Airways. They are still screwing foreigners with specially high fares. Ditto for Sahara and Indian.

(There have been several uninformed rumors in this forum that the practice of dual-pricing has stopped, but as you just found out yourself, that is not the case in real life.)

As I said in the other thread, get your friend in India to buy Spicejet and Deccan tickets. Both airlines allow foreigners to buy INR fares. If necessary (e.g, if she's a student and you suspect she can't "lend" you the money for a few weeks) you can wire her an estimated amount in advance.

(Worst case scenario: If the above is not possible, still do not buy "Pound" tickets in UK. Buy in India after you arrive. Even last-minute expensive INR tickets bought in India are likely to be cheaper than "pound" fares offered now. For best service, deal with a good travel agent rather than the airlines themselves; go to one immediately after you arrive. You can try to phone and arrange everything in advance however.)

I have paid rupees for Jet but from Goa to London. It's more likely that they want the currency of the country where you are booking.

Tom, hope you are aware of the fact that Jet Airways offers a discount of 25% to passengers who are between the ages of 12 to 29.

As per my knowledge, only Kingfisher airlines charges same fares for both indians and foreigners, but is a premium carrier unlike airdeccan or spicejet. Try your luck with kingfisher. check the below link

www.flykingfisher.com

Hi, Thanks for all the replies!
OK so I managed to get a reply from my girfriend in India today, she has been at an Ashram for the last week or so and probably will be there next week as well so no chance of booking flights...

akt, yes we are both students, hence the cheap importance... I am willing to pay the extra for Jet to get to Chennai, where she is, but after that it will need to be Air Deccan or similar alternative... She is going to try and book them next saturday (if I can not find a way of doing it before), but that leaves fares to rise further....the nearest biggest city from her is Trivandrum, will most agencies offer as good deals? And will she be able to book Air Deccan tickets through them? Other than that, yes, I will have to take the second option of purchasing them while in India...

GoanCanuck, no I was not aware of this! How do I select that on their web site if I am to book (I am 25)?

Epicure & goangoangone, thanks for the advice on rupee fares, I will keep an eye out for kingfisher flights...

Thanks all.

Tom

I would be careful with Air Deccan - notorious for overbooking - a riot on the news the other day with angry passengers not being loaded etc. Known for late and cancelled departures. I booked recently with Air Sahara and was told the price was same for Resident or non-Resident persons. Don't know how true this is? My fare was return to Kathmandu and I thought very cheap at just over 9000 rupees.

Sorry this is meant to be an edit not a quote I pressed wrong button! Just adding the return was Delhi-Kathmandu to clarify the cost of the ticket.

Hi again, I just spoke to the people at make my trip and I found a woman who is willing to book the flights for me! I need to check one thing first... She has offered me INR prices on Jet airway and Air Indian.... Is this going to be a problem on check in (I phoned Jet's British line yesterday and they said I couldnt)? She says that I can travel on these fares but I just want to make sure?

Thanks for your help,


Tom.

We have gone over this before, so just a few scattered thoughts. With computerized networking every travel agent has access to same fares these days, what you get often depends on when you buy.

Right now, Chennai-Port Blair is INR 3000 on Deccan, INR 4000 on Sahara. At that difference, I'd go with Sahara which is 10x better.

Did you try india.makemytrip.com? Click on Customer Service in the left panel, then "Chat with us". This will take you to an agent. Tell them exactly what you want, that you'd pay with a uk card etc. They were able to help a friend of mine, so it is worth trying. They will email an authorization form which you have to fill and fax along with both sides of the card.

Otherwise, if your friend cannot buy in India, you'd just have to buy when you arrive.

Good luck.

Hi, yes thanks, I have contacted makemytrip and they are willing to book the flights, the only problem now is that they are offering my INR fares... The agent says that I can use them but when I phoned Jet's british line yesterday I was told that I could not. Did your friend book INR fares through makemytrip? I am one step closer and almost ready but just need to clarify this!

Cheers

Tom.

The situation with dual pricing remains confusing. My experience is that it is "city ticket office" type people who are in love with such rules. Staff at the airport is more interested in "excess baggage" charges! So she is probably right, you'd most likely just go through.

Here is my best considered advice:

Whenever you have the choice, choose an airline that does not have dual pricing.

Otherwise get the lowest priced INR tickets. Make My Trip is an experienced outfit and they will give you the best practical advice.

For small price differences, I'd avoid Deccan and pay extra for another airline. But that is your choice. If you want to save the last rupee, then Deccan is it.

However, do buy *some* tickets fast!

When you chat with or call Make My Trip, try to get back to the same agent if possible.

Don't go around in circles, decide what you are comfortable with and get this wrapped up.

After that let us know how it went. Good luck!

OK, for everyones information hopefully this will save a lot of the bother that I have been through!

I have just contacted Jet (again) and this time I am told that foreign people can travel on Indian fares on their airline (I checked this twice so it must be ok). I have also confirmed this with Air Indian, you can travel with a rupee price flight. I have also phoned SpiceJet and they are ok with the person not having the credit card at checkin (although it says you should on their web site), I will be taking a copy and a letter of approval from the card owner just in case.

Now the problem was to book the flights... no matter how i tried there was no way to do this OTHER than through www.makemytrip.com... I telephoned them in India (i would recommend this for quick response) and spoke to an agent, she booked all my flights for me (with rupee prices) in India on a FOREIGN credit card. So, it seems that this is the way to get around all of these restrictions for the moment. As I write this I see that my spicejet reservation has just been emailed to me, lets hope the remaining follow.

I hope this helps someone!
Thanks akt for all your help... Barring no unforseen misshaps I have the trip planned now! Oh, and I managed to avoid Air Deccan now that I can book rupee prices with Jet and Air Indian!

Thanks again,

Tom.

(If anyone wants to ask questions about the process please do, I am very open to help people avoid the stress that I have been going through over the last few days!!!)

You are most welcome. I am glad it all worked out. The decision to avoid Deccan is good too; nothing bad may have happened, but there is no need to take unnecessary risk either. I am also a little envious that you are visiting a beautiful part of India (Andaman) that I haven't visited yet. Have a great time and let us know how it went.

Make printouts of the confirming emails you get from "Make My Trip". Each booking should have a PNR/reference number. Try to confirm the booking at the airlines' websites directly, and check the details again.

Make 3 printouts of all your bookings, making sure that both passengers' names, airline, flight details (number, destination and most especially, the *date*) are shown on some paper or other. One set for your family back home, one for your carry-on, and one for your girlfriend's carry-on.

At Indian airports, they don't let you inside without a ticket, and with e-ticketing, these printouts serve that purpose. To enter, you'd need to show such a paper at the door.

Now relax. You have organized a great trip and all that remains is to enjoy it. Having bought the tickets, you can finally focus on the place(s). Get a travel guide and read up on the Andamans and other destination cities you'd be visiting.

There is also a great deal of experise here at India Mike and people will help you with any information or advice you want. There are sub-forums dedicated to specific places. The one for Andamans & NIcobar Islands is at indiamike.com/india/forumdisplay.php?f=41.