Travel Lite with GoAir Flights

GoAir airline of India operates on the low-cost business model. This model is characterised by lowest airfares without any attached frills of services, such as meals or entertainment inside the cabin. As per the rules of civil aviation authority in India, airlines are required to provide an allowance of certain baggage to the passengers. Typically, the allowance for domestic routes is 15 kg of checked in baggage and 7 kg of cabin baggage per person for economy class travel. However, the airlines, while permitting this allowance have also been encouraging passengers to leave their checked in bags at home and travel with only the hand baggage. To end this, they have added another fare class to their tickets. Go Air flights can now be booked on GoLite fares with the same objective.

As per the rules of these fares, the persons with only hand baggage are charged less sum for their tickets. It also gives passengers the option of paying only for their seat and a piece of hand baggage when they have no checked in luggage to carry. These fares are applicable on all domestic GoAir flights, for both non-stop and via-flights.

If passengers have to check in their baggage after buying these fares, airline charges some nominal additional fee for it. The fee is more if check-in is done at the airport than done online. In the event, the passengers refuse to pay these charges at the airport, before getting the boarding pass, airline reserves the right to deny the boarding to such passengers and can even forfeit the entire ticket fare (except government taxes).

Passengers are allowed to carry only 1 piece of cabin baggage under this fare category and that should not weigh more than 7 kg and have a sum of more than 115 centimetres in length, breadth and height. If the weight exceeds, there will be an additional charge of Rs 250 per excess kg. However, passengers are allowed to carry a regular sized laptop bag or ladies hand bag along with this cabin baggage without entailing any additional costs.

On Go Air flights originating from airports at Jammu and Kashmir, there is no provision of carrying cabin baggage due to security reasons. In that scenario when a passenger books a GoLite fare ticket from airports at Jammu and Kashmir, the bag will have to be checked in. All other conditions of carriage remain the same.

The rationale of introducing these Hand Baggage Only fares stems from the fact that more load due to checked in baggage on the aircraft reduces the fuel efficiency of these carriers. Since fuel costs comprise one-third of the operational costs, it makes sense to reduce the fuel consumption in every possible way. One of the ways to do it is to increase the fuel efficiency of the airplanes. Encouraging people not to bring their checked in bags is aimed at reducing the load on airplanes. Thus, introducing GoLite fares is one of the measures to meet the objective of improving fuel efficiency. 

Check Baggage Restrictions before Booking Flights

Travelling by air is convenient as it is fast, comfortable and connectivity to different places across the globe is good. However, it is suggested that people need to look into a number of important of factors while making flight reservations. The aspects that fliers need to take care of include the type of carrier, aircraft in use, in-flight amenities, class of travel and restrictions regarding carrying of certain objects on-board. Out of these factors, baggage restriction is among the important factors that people should be aware prior to making bookings. Experienced fliers and travel experts suggest that travellers should check for these restrictions of a carrier before booking flights to avoid hassles at the airport. In the recent past, most airlines have become strict in regard to the size and weight limits of both types of luggage – carry-on and checked-in. They charge extra for exceeding the predefined limits. Hence, it is advisable to verify all relevant rules and restrictions of the carrier beforehand.

Some Important Facts to Remember

There are several important facts that help travellers determine the carrier and luggage size to avoid extra expenses at the time of checking-in. To begin with, those who are planning their journey with codeshare flights, should be aware that luggage allowance may not be same for all aircraft they board during the sojourn. Rules and regulations of the operating airline are applicable in such cases usually.

Sometimes, it becomes inevitable to carry extra baggage, especially for long vacations. In such cases, people can check online travel agencies to acquire information about the cheapest way of carrying their required stuff. Leading travel portals offer attractive discount options on existing flight fare that help in cutting down travel costs. This revenue can be used to pay the additional allowances. Besides, experts state that charges are considerably low when exceeding weight and size limits of objects is pre-arranged in comparison to detection of excess luggage at the airport. Besides, it is also suggested that those who have a lot of baggage should consider flying in the business class or even first class. This is because most airlines offer a greater luggage allowance for these classes.

Other Ways to Save Money on Excess Baggage

Travellers who want to save expenses and have excess baggage to carry can opt for postal services or sea freight. However, this involves slight delay of delivery of items during transit and people are suggested to check individual country listings for information on duration and reliability. This might not be an ideal option for vacationers, but in case of transfer of jobs or shifting to a new place, people could consider this. Another comparatively cheaper alternative than excessive baggage fees is the air cargo service offered by many airlines. Goods are delivered within a specific time, usually between two to five days from the date of the booking, at the address given by the customer. Airlines that offer cargo services for transportation of objects, provide proper paperwork and take care of custom procedures. However, trends reveal that most people prefer carrying their belongings in-flight to avoid chaos. They are advised to select an airline after verifying for specific rules and regulations in this regard.

For more detailed information on excess baggage procedures go through this link -  

Hand baggage and check-in baggage on domestic and International carriers.