Points to Remember while Flight Booking

With the onset new technologies and infrastructure in the aviation industry, the price of flight booking has been reduced significantly. The automation of reservation system and de-regulation of the industry were the milestones in the functioning and restructuring of the whole process. These not only affected the process of reserving a seat with different carriers, but also changed the approach of people towards air travel. The advent of low-cost carriers in the late 1990s affirmed this wave of change, and perhaps introduced most drastic changes in all the aspect, starting from price. Not only air travel, but other modes of transportation also underwent this process of modification. Now, travellers can opt for any of these flights to go to new places or explore old ones. However, in case of long distances that can take hours to reach via car or train, flights are usually preferred. In recent days, it has been observed that even for short-haul journeys people opt for air travel because of its time and cost efficiency. Here is a list of tips that can prove to be cost-reducing while reserving seats with any airline.

Timing and Advance Booking

The air ticket price is usually high during festivals or peak tourist seasons. Hence, experts advise on avoiding these times while planning the trip. Apart from this, the booking in advance can save a great deal of money as most of the flights are vacant, and carriers offer them at low cost to achieve minimum load factor for operation. This advance period may vary from three months to 20 days, but after that, there are less chances of cracking a lucrative deal. Last-minute deals are treated as the last resort as the chances of success are less than 30 per cent. However, it is worth noting that booking in advance for festive seasons also do not help; hence those times should be avoided if possible.

Look Beyond Price

Most of the people compare ticket prices on the basis of price. However, there are several other aspects that need to be considered like baggage allowance, meals offered and other services included in the ticket price. It has been seen that the lowest priced deals do not always give the best value for money. The cost is one of the most important factors, but others that may affect the travelling experience and needed to be kept in mind before ticket booking include the number of stops, flight and connecting timings.

Number of Stops

A direct flight to the destination is often the best option, but it is usually priced quite high. Hence, people can book a flight with one or two stopovers. This will neutralise the total cost of travel at the expense of precious time. However, it is not the best option for people who have to attend urgent business meeting or family event.

Connecting Options

There are certain routes, where a direct flight is not operated due to technological constraints or because of the revenue issues. Travellers, who have to travel to such destinations, need to check for airports on which these deals may land them. They can easily get connecting flights from popular airports. These little things help passengers in getting the cheapest deals, which offer the greatest value as well.

Choosing IndiGo Booking for Reliability

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) recently revealed the second quarter result and IndiGo has managed to retain the first position with more than 31 per cent market share. The fleet size of around 79 aircraft includes technically advanced models, such as Airbus A320. It caters more than 35 destinations with over 510 flights every day. This low-cost carrier (LCC) is first choice of people while flight ticket booking because of top-notch services provided by it. As per studies, it is one of the most reliable carriers of the nation.

In terms of punctuality and reliability, it is considered the best among all the domestic carriers. IndiGo booking has seen an upsurge in recent years as it introduced lowest possible cost along with maintaining the quality of its services. The tremendous increase in the number of fliers with this LCC is not just because of the high-quality services, but because of its ability to schedule flights on time also. It has been named as one of the most reliable service providers in the Indian aviation industry as per research done by experts. The criterion involved the percentage of flights that were delayed, diverted, cancelled and on time.

Although, SpiceJet has surpassed this LCC in terms of seat occupancy and the number customers gained in the month of July. However, IndiGo still leads in qualitative aspects such as customer satisfaction. Reviews on social networking sites and travel portals are all positive with plenty of praises regarding the food quality and other amenities. The national airline – Air India – falls between SpiceJet and IndiGo, which means it is giving satisfactory services to passengers. However, there are several areas in which the flag carrier can improve the rating. There may be a situation where market equations may drastically change on arrival of new aircraft ordered by different LCCs.

Check Out the New Routes added by IndiGo before Flight Ticket Booking

Gurgaon-based, no-frills airline IndiGo has recently announced the addition of more than 10 routes in its list of domestic flights. Travellers, while planning a domestic journey, can now check these newly-added routes before flight ticket booking. The new plan also includes a much-needed non-stop fourth everyday service between Pune and Delhi and second daily service between Mumbai and Indore. Apart from these two, more services are decided for passengers, but most of them are scheduled to be introduced in August.

As per the industry reports, a sixth everyday flight between Mumbai and Kolkata, and a third daily flight between Mumbai and Indore may launch in the first week of August. Apart from these, the airline is planning to launch one regular and a second daily service for Indore–Hyderabad and Hyderabad–Vizag, respectively. This low-cost carrier (LCC) is amongst the leading airlines of the country, with more than 31 market share and over 75 aircraft. The InterGlobe Enterprises owned carrier already operates more than 500 flights on an everyday basis that cover about 35 international and domestic destinations. These new destinations will soon appear in the IndiGo booking options, adding to the convenience of travellers.

The president of the carrier expressed his happiness towards the growing trust of frequent flyers on services provided by IndiGo. He also discussed the performance graph of the company that has been going upwards in the current as well as last fiscal year. People can now enjoy non-stop journey, perfect lumbar support and comfortable seat pitch on popular routes by booking air tickets with this LCC on the above-mentioned destinations. All they have to do is typing the start and end destination names, select journey date and the number of passengers on any travel portal, as a result of which the list of flights (including the new ones) will appear on the site, followed by several instructions and final payment.

Frequent Promotional Schemes Bolster SpiceJet Flight Ticket Booking

The aviation space of India has witnessed significant developments in the past few decades. The inception and advent of low-cost carriers and the trend of online flight ticket booking have led to the dawn of the era of air travel here. Today, there is a host of aviation companies in the country, which strive to offer world-class passenger, as well as, cargo air services. The current fiscal has been an interesting one by far. Factors like the commencement of operations of AirAsia India and growing rivalry among carriers have created an interesting market scenario. Leading low-cost carriers or LCCs of the country, such as IndiGo, GoAir and SpiceJet have been involved in a tug of fare war. These budget airlines have been announcing attractive promotional schemes throughout the year in order to maintain and enhance passenger traffic.

In this airfare war, the most trending and interesting battle is going on between IndiGo – the leading carrier of the country in terms of market share and SpiceJet – the Sun Group aviation foray. SpiceJet, which had recorded loss in the past few years, has emerged to be the second leading airline as per recorded market share data. Travel experts suggest that the primary reason behind the boost in SpiceJet flight ticket booking is the treat of flash sales, which the airline has been offering since January, 2014. From base fare at INR 1 and about 50 per cent slash down in price, to Monsoon Sale and Bundled Prices, this no-frills airline has offered an array of discounts and benefits. These schemes have increased the influx of passengers with the carrier and brought it into a somewhat better position. It is expected that by the end of this fiscal the airline might be in a profitable position in the market.

Listed among Top Ten LCCs, SpiceJet Ticket Booking to Get a Boost

SpiceJet and IndiGo, two of the most prominent low-cost carriers (LCCs) of India, have been listed among the top ten cheapest carriers in the world. This list was published by a well-known travel agency, based in the United States of America, after it conducted a global survey. FireFly of Malaysia emerged as the cheapest no-frills airline of the world, according to reports. This LCC was offering one-way air ticket booking along with about 20 kilograms baggage allowance at an average charge of approximately 30 Euros. The Sun Group carrier, offering a one-way ticket at an average price of around 52.24 Euros, was placed at the second place in this list. While IndiGo, which was positioned at the eighth slot, was selling one-way air tickets at an average rate of around 68.37 European currency.

SpiceJet and IndiGo LCCs of India have been listed in the top ten cheapest carriers in the world

The Istanbul-based budget carrier – Onur Air bagged the third place with its average airfare being about 55.70 Euros. AirAsia – the low-cost Malaysian airline, which recently commenced operations in India, was positioned at the fourth rank in this list. Pegasus Airlines, another Istanbul-based LCC, emerged to be the cheapest carrier of Europe. This budget airline, offering an average price of around 64.64 Euros, proved the general notion about Ryanair – the Irish LCC – being the cheapest wrong. TigerAir – the Singapore-based carrier – was placed at the ninth position while the tenth place was occupied by VivaAerobus – the Mexican LCC.

It is being predicted by travel experts that IndiGo and SpiceJet ticket booking will witness considerable upsurge after this declaration. The fact that these LCCs are among top ten cheapest carriers of the world would encourage more and more travellers to opt for flying with them. The ongoing cut-throat competition in the Indian market is expected to ease a little for these two budget airlines after the generation of this list worldwide.

Rise in IndiGo Flight Booking gives it the BIAL Domestic Airline of the Year Award

It seems accolades are making their way for the leading carrier in Indian aviation in terms of market shares. IndiGo has been leading the pack of domestic airlines for successive years in a row and strongly looks forward to do the same in the forthcoming years. After recording a boost in domestic flight booking in the running calendar, the low-cost carrier (LCC) has been voted as the Pinnacle Domestic Airline of the Year by Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL). This is the first time this award ceremony was being organised. While IndiGo bagged the honours in the domestic category, Emirates was the carrier that was conferred the International Airline of the Year award.

First Edition of the Ceremony

The award was given on the basis of services offered during the last one year, passenger satisfaction and efficient management of the airlines. IndiGo, which has recently reported a profitable run for the fifth consecutive time, excelled in all the categories and was adjudged the best. Incidentally, this LCC was also voted as the best rising low-cost airline in the world in 2013 by Skytrax, a global forum for monitoring the performance of airlines as well as airports. This awards ceremony was conducted at Kempegowda International Airport and this award function was to commemorate six years of its operation.

This LCC seems to be in the perfect position where it dreamt to be. Recently, as per the reports for the fiscal ending March 2014, the airline has grabbed hold of more than 31.5 per cent of the market shares. This puts it miles ahead of its competitors and quite well-positioned to take a third of the market shares. Riding high on a host of discounts, IndiGo flight booking has witnessed a sharp increase during the running calendar year. The LCC will definitely, further improve its position and try to strengthen its position in the market before AirAsia and Singapore Airlines start operating.

Several Factors that Influence the Availability of Cheap Tickets

Travelling is a necessity in the modern generation and people have to plan out an itinerary every now and then. Be it for a vacation or business requirements, the season for making a flight journey is never out. This has a direct impact on the availability and sales of cheap tickets, both international as well as domestic. Keeping a check on the trends of airlines is a demanding task and even frequent fliers sometimes find it quite difficult. However, that does not mean that it is impossible to make an estimate of the ticket prices. A number of steps can be followed to find out the cheapest rates and simultaneously, book ticket for the same.

Checking all the Options before Finalising the Airline

Due to intense competition, both at international as well as domestic levels, the price of air tickets keep on fluctuating by a considerable margin within short intervals. The airline, which offers cheapest domestic flights at a certain instant might not be able to provide the same at another instant. This is the reason, why frequent fliers have suggested that it is better to check all flights of all airlines flying on the concerned route if travellers are looking for the best deals. This gives the chance to get the cheapest deal if the choice of an airline is not a major issue.

Advance Booking – The Age-old Technique to Get the Best Deals

The first and most foolproof method to get the cheapest options is to book tickets in advance. Interestingly, the only thing required to make an advanced booking is timely planning. Those people who are going for a vacation can easily plan their trip well in prior to the date of the journey. Such travellers can easily take advantage of prior reservations to get the best prices. Initially, when the airline launches the sale of tickets, the tickets are kept at a lower price to encourage more people to make a booking. This is the main reason why booking in advance might get fliers the best chances to get the best deals.

Internet is by far, the best means to get all necessary information about flights and tickets. Using it wisely is thus, absolutely necessary for getting the best deals while flying domestic and international. Travellers can entire the number of flights, their timings, the nature of aircraft, cabin classification and a lot more straight from the website. Apart from this, if any discount is being offered on a particular route, the information regarding the same is displayed right beside the price for the convenience of travellers. As a result, travellers can make an easy choice depending on their personal requirements. Airlines around the world offer discount and freebies from time to time for encouraging more fliers to opt for a trip. Checking on the internet allows travellers to get acquainted and opt for such offers. Thus, fliers can get the best deals from the comfort of their homes just by a few mouse-clicks.

Few Points to keep in mind after Booking Air Tickets

A number of travellers around the world overlook few important things essential for a hassle-free flying experience. Even frequent fliers sometimes miss out on these guidelines, which when followed might make the travelling experience better. Travel experts have said that these little steps can enhance the quality of travel, be it international or domestic. After booking of air tickets is done, people especially those who are opting for air travel for the first time. Though each and every airport around the globe is different, these few tactics can allow travellers to whiz past the security check and board the aircraft in no time.

Check-in Online to Avoid Standing in Queues

The first and the foremost thing that should be done is getting checked-in online. Most of the airlines around the world now offer this facility that is primarily aimed to reduce the heckles of passengers. Once travellers have checked-in online, they can straight away head to the baggage tagging counter after which, they can board the flight. Thus, it is suggested to carry out the checking-in procedure online rather than standing behind long queues at the terminal for the same. Thus, while booking cheap domestic air tickets as well as international, it is recommended to check whether this facility is available with the airline concerned or not.

Pack Items after Going through the List of Prohibited Objects

A neat packing strategy should be chalked out and proper care should be taken not to include any such items, which can be prohibited. Most carriers around the world restrict travellers from carrying a number of objects in the aircraft. Before packing, fliers are suggested to go through the list of prohibited items of the airline concerned for a hassle-free passage at the airport. In order to avoid unwanted delays at the time of check-in, baggage should be packed with proper care.

Keep Valuables in a Separate Handbag

Keeping all the important documents and necessary objects in a separate handbag is a smart way of hasten things at the airport. Sometimes, due to the confusion travellers tend to misplace vital objects like passports, identity cards that may lead to several problems. To avoid such situations, it is better to keep all valuables in a small handbag, Take them out whenever required and place them back immediately. This will, on one hand, keep these items within immediate reach; while, on the other, it will prevent confusion arising due to misplacement of these.

Flight Status Monitoring

Checking of flight status before leaving for the journey is considered a vital thing to avoid unnecessary heckles. There might be some occasions where the flight gets delayed due to some unavoidable circumstances. In such cases, passengers might have to wait at the airports for long hours that might be quite taxing. Just to prevent such unwanted situations, the best way is to check the status. With advancement in technology, monitoring of aircraft can be done with utmost precision. Thus, checking of flight status is recommended before leaving for the airport.

Tips for Booking Cheap Air Tickets

Saving money on tours becomes important if travellers are on a strict budget. Besides, limited budget or not, who does not like to slash down the expenditure, especially while on a vacation. Well, today everyone knows that a flight ticket booking can be done easily with travel portals from anywhere and at any time. Frequent users might also be aware that these websites offer discount coupons and other benefits to frequent travellers. As a matter of fact, there are a few lesser known strategies, which when implemented, can reduce travel costs by a considerable margin.

E-mail Alerts

It is recommended that users register their e-mail IDs with leading travel portals and sign up for alerts. People who plan well-in-advance have higher chances of getting the best deals as they have the chance of registering their IDs for specific destinations at the desired time of the year. While, signing up for alerts for a particular place, users should make sure that they include nearby arrival and departure airports to get filtered alerts. Those who have not planned a trip but might need to buy air tickets, can sign up for alerts from a specific departure airport. These notifications are not limited to information about airfare, but also include details about holiday packages and car rentals.

Consolidated Bookings

Most leading online agencies offer consolidated services, including low airfare rates, hotel bookings, airport transfer and car rental. It is always advisable to go for comprehensive deals if the thought is for reduced expenditure. This not only reduces the hassles of making individual bookings, but it also makes the trip more organised. Another benefit of hotel plus flight booking is that it saves a considerable amount of money. These packages are reasonably priced and help in cutting down travel expenses.

Neighbouring Airports

Large cities and important towns generally have more than one airport – a main hub and one or more smaller ones. Travellers usually tend to focus only on major hubs in cities, but experts recommend that people should consider other smaller ones in their cities. This is because these airports receive less aircraft of global airlines and simultaneously, have lesser passenger influx. Sometimes, people are not even aware of the number and location of smaller ones if they are living in large metropolitan cities. They can check for such airports on online agencies and book tickets if suitable flights are available.  

Break Journey

If fliers are not short of time and they have to travel long-haul across continents, breaking the journey might prove to be a worthy alternative. Taking two separate flights with different airlines might increase the duration of journey but it is beneficial in two ways – firstly, it reduces cost significantly and secondly, it helps people to take a break and relax for a couple of hours, thus reducing fatigue. A recent survey reveals that the trend of break journey has become quite popular with people who fly long distances across the globe. Although these strategies do not guarantee a slash down in expenditure, but surely increase the probability of saving considerable amount of money to a significant extent.

Flight Ticket Booking in Low-Cost Carriers – A Boon For Budget Fliers

The demand for cheap air tickets domestic as well as international has significantly increased in the last few decades. This can be attributed to the fact that flying has become a more feasible and easier option to travel long distances in a short span of time. Due to their fast lifestyle and lack of free time, people opt for travelling by air even for short distances across cities today. This has led to an increase in the demand for cheap tickets paving the way for the rise of low-cost carriers (LCCs). If travellers are not looking for premium travelling experience while flying, then opting for these carriers might be the best solution. They generally offer cheapest rates, and opting for them helps to might cut down on travel expenses by a significant margin.

LCCs are also known as budget, no-frills or discount carriers as they focus on providing mandatory quality services. They usually charge separately for facilities like food, seat allocation, priority boarding and baggage during the trip. Travellers who do not want to spend excess money on flying can consider flight ticket booking with a budget airline. There are a number of advantages of these carriers, both for fliers and the owning company.

Advantages of Operating LCCs

Budget airlines are not only convenient options for travellers, but they are also equally advantageous for operators. To begin with, low-cost flights have short stoppages at airports that increase the use of fleet that cuts down on expenses on demurrage (period for which the aircraft stays at the airport). Besides, operators of such airlines do not have to worry about additional services like free goodies, food and entertainment. This not only avoids the complexity of services, but also reduces ancillary costs. Additionally, this factor invites extra revenue that is charged for catering and extra baggage. Moreover, owners of these carriers have to pay less landing and other airport fees because their flights generally land on secondary and regional terminals. Moreover, they have standardised fleet – mostly only one type of aircraft with higher seating density. This results in lower maintenance costs, easier exchange of on-board crew and increased usage of aircraft.

Impact of LCCs on Tourism

Budget airlines fly across cities, states and sometimes across several nations. The advent of low-cost carriers has rendered positive impacts on the tourism industry of most countries. These airlines play a significant role in the development of weekend and short-break tourism, and in bringing about a radical expansion of potential destinations. They are extending the frequency of travel for leisure through various travel portals, where travellers can not only buy a flight ticket, but can also book hotels and hire cars. Cheap airlines target a wide range of overlapping niche markets, ranging from cultural tourism to pensioners wintering abroad.

Discount airlines have assorted perks for all – travellers, operators and the tourism industry. It is fast developing and being considered to thrive further in the coming decades.