Cancelling an air ticket comes at a cost, but now you will have to pay much more. This month, low-cost airlines, including IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir have increased their cancellation fees by Rs.150-350. The previous hike was in February.
Revised fees
Budget carrier SpiceJet has increased its cancellation charges to Rs.2,250 on domestic routes and to Rs.2,500 on international routes. Earlier, the charges were Rs.1,899 and Rs.2,349, respectively.
IndiGo has increased its cancellation fee to Rs.2,250, while GoAir has revised this to Rs.2,225 from Rs.1,900, an increase of Rs.325. Usually, all cancellation fees are deducted from the total amount of the basic fare plus fuel charges and the remaining amount is refunded. But if the base fare and fuel charge together are lower than the cancellation fee, then the entire amount will be deducted as cancellation charges. Hence, you will not get any refund. For instance, a Pune-Ahmedabad one-way ticket for 13 May costs Rs.2,054. If you cancel this ticket, and considering that the cancellation cost is Rs.2,225, you will not get any refund.
Timing matters
The cancellation fee also depends on the time you cancel the scheduled flight ticket. Usually, the airline allows you to cancel the booking up to two hours before the flight for domestic flights and four hours for international flights. Hence, refund minus cancellation charges are applicable for cancellation made before two-four hours before scheduled departure, depending on the destination.
For instance, on its website, IndiGo states that for any cancellation made within two hours before departure, a no-show charge will be applicable. It will be considered that a person has not shown up for the outbound flight and hence no refund will be made.
Balance amount
When it comes to refund, different airlines follow different rules. Some refund into your bank account while other withhold it. For instance, on its website, GoAir stated that in case of cancellation, the balance of the original booking amount, after adjusting the cancellation fee, will be retained in a credit shell for 12 months. You will be able to use this amount on a future booking. But if you don’t use the money during the validity period, the amount will be non-refundable. Similarly, SpiceJet stated that the balance amount will be retained as a credit shell and adjusted in the next SpiceJet booking, but refunds may be made on request.
Flash sale tickets
Watch out for the cancellation terms for promotion campaigns. Usually, the terms and conditions related to cancellation of flash sale or discounted tickets are different from those for regular tickets. It will either be non-refundable or the charges will be higher.
