Air India webfare dec 2008 Lon-Bom..exorbitant

zoltan

It seems that one of the latest tricks used by the airlines is to advertise cheap fares but then hit you with the taxes at the time of booking.

Make sure that you know exactly what you are paying for (ie. inclusive of everything).

Cheers
Zoltan

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patti123

I booked and paid for my ticket about 2 weeks ago and the same ticket with the same airline is now £130 more !I paid £368 its now £499 . When i booked Air India was cheaper at £313 and that is now £469 .

Mickey S

In the European Union it is illegal to advertise an air fare exclusive of charges and taxes. The headline fare must be the fare you actually pay.

Air fares generally are a lot higher than they were last year, due mainly to the cost of fuel, although different airlines handle it in different ways. The large carriers simply increase their fares; the smaller, "low-cost" airlines are busy piling on charges for things that used to be free, such as checked baggage, checking in at the airport and "priority boarding", and increased charges for using a credit or debit card (as if you have any choice when booking online). I have heard that at Luton airport they now even charge for the resealable plastic bags in which they make you place your carry-on toiletries.

It's always possible to find an unexpected bargain, though - I just got back from Japan, having paid just £400 return with Sri Lankan Airlines at the last minute (which included a night in a 4-star beach hotel in Sri Lanka in each direction!).

patti123

Southall Travel is good at the price you see is the price you pay. I find the charter flights to Goa load up the price of the ticket . They advertise flights at really low prices then when you click on them they add on the fuel surcharge and everything else they can put on and get away with .

tomato soup

Last year I booked my flight London - Bombay - London, end Nov - end Jan with Southall Travel. They were very good, advising me to take Virgin Atlantic over Air India, citing frequent bumping, pandemonium at check in and lower quality service on Air India??? Prices for Jet, AI and Virgin were all around the £330 mark. This in September 2007.
I also used them to get my visa - remember the UK visa outsourcing problems last autumn, I've yet to deal with that this year. They had quoted a £20 fee on the phone but upped this to £25 when it came to paying, which I thought was a bit sneaky.

I keep an eye on prices throughout the year and find that major carriers have periodic sales. I have been tempted by Finnair, Air France, Austrian, KLM and others this year. I finally bought my nonstop flight for this year a couple of weeks ago direct from British Airways in their sale, London - Bombay - London, end Nov - end Jan for £329 including £20 discount for Executive Club members (simple email registration). Ok I had to fly out before end November which may not suit everyone but still a very good deal.
On the price breakdown, I noticed that the return ticket cost was £105, the remaining £223.60 being taxes, fees and charges.

I also noticed that BA levy fuel supplements and that India straddles two price bands. Delhi and Bombay attract a £78 surcharge as they are deemed to be flights under 9 hours, whereas Calcutta, Bangalore and Chennai are over 9 hours and are charged £109. I am guessing that these charges are a constant, payable by all airlines?

When all is said and done my feeling is that over the past 10 years that I have been flying to India, flights have been available for between £300 and £350 if you can be a bit flexible.