Airlines for options other than ‘Apex’

A-I has introduced a two and three tier fare structure for different destinations. A-I on Tuesday decided to remove all restrictions in terms of days and offer fares in two to three grades claiming that the structure is “consumer-friendly”.

“We have made some changes in the fares and Apex fares are now decided on the basis of 10 and 5 days, instead of the earlier 21 and 14 days,” a Lufthansa airline official confirmed. An Air France official said that the airline was still following the Apex structure of 21 and 14 days but travel industry sources said the company was offering discounts up to tickets booked 5-10 days in advance. For all European sectors including London, Lufthansa is charging Rs 33,900 per ticket if booked 10 days in advance and in case of five days, the fare is Rs 39,700.

Travel industry sources said that British Airways is accepting advance bookings prior to 7 days of travel and charging a flat rate of Rs 45,000 to London, but also decides “on a case by case basis”. BA’s spokesperson could not be contacted for comments. An A-I spokesperson said that “economy ticket for New York will cost Rs 47,000 and Rs 52,000, and the higher fare denotes a greater possibility of getting a confirmed booking”. In the case of flying to London on A-I, the fares are in three levels: Rs 32,000, Rs 37,000 and Rs 43,000. There will be a block of seats reserved for each of the three levels and bookings on any of the three levels would be on the basis of availability of tickets.

“If a person is flexible on the date of travel, he may be able to pay a lower fare, but in cases where the date of travel is decided and cannot be changed, the passenger will pay a higher fare”, the spokesperson added. According to A-I, Apex fare structure was not working well with most airlines not being strict and charging discounted fares, but not on the basis of dates. “A-I had adhered to the system strictly with no let-ups by travel agents and was hence losing out on business”, he added.

An industry observer said “Indians do not make their travel plans in advance, so the Apex system was not working well”.

The Apex structure was decided by a BAR committee headed by A-I to bring in transparency and customer convenience. Flying under the Apex structure had lots of restrictions imposed in case of ticket cancellations and change in date of travel. Also, 25 per cent of the fare is deducted on unutilised tickets, compared to 50 per cent in the earlier system. A-I has decided to impose penalty in case of cancellation only, but the change in travel dates will not attract any extra charges.

None of the Middleast airlines including Royal Jordanian and Kuwait Airways are following the advance purchase structure in fares.