AHMEDABAD:
The crisis in SpiceJet airlines seems to have subsided for now as
flights resumed normal operations from Wednesday evening. However,
passengers and travel agents who have booked tickets for flights in
January and February are wondering whether the flights would available
to take them to their destinations.
Many travel agents have booked SpiceJet tickets in advance for a large number of customers travelling to domestic as well as international destinations. The agents are now worried whether they will be able to honor the commitments they had made to their customers.
"SpiceJet has a daily flight to Dubai from Ahmedabad and for that one flight alone there is advance booking of approximately Rs 15 crore for flights in January-February 2015," said Deepak Rupani, treasurer, Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI).
The reason for the large number of bookings for Dubai is the 'Dubai Shopping Festival' which is to be held from January 4, 2015 to February 4, 2015. Several Gujaratis are expected to fly to Dubai for the event and as SpiceJet is a low-cost airline, it has got maximum bookings.
On Wednesday, all the airline's flights were grounded across the country for about 10 hours till it paid Rs 3 crore as payment of what it owes to oil companies. The part payment enabled the airline to resume operations though only partly. Of its 243 listed flights, it claimed to have operated 75 across the country after 4pm on Wednesday.
December-January is the peak holiday season. This year, however, people who have planned vacations with their families long time back are contemplating change in schedule or airline bookings. "I have a booking with an airline for Hyderabad and Chennai which I will be visiting with my family during the Republic Day weekend in January. SpiceJet's Ahmedabad- Hyderabad flight is cancelled till December 31. Moreover, I have not got any information from the airline if the flight will resume in January," said Ashish Chauhan, a professional.
The troubles of Spicejet airlines seem no sign of abating. The air fares of other airlines on busy routes including Ahmedabad-Mumbai and Ahmedabad-Delhi are expected to rise by 20%.
Many travel agents have booked SpiceJet tickets in advance for a large number of customers travelling to domestic as well as international destinations. The agents are now worried whether they will be able to honor the commitments they had made to their customers.
"SpiceJet has a daily flight to Dubai from Ahmedabad and for that one flight alone there is advance booking of approximately Rs 15 crore for flights in January-February 2015," said Deepak Rupani, treasurer, Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI).
The reason for the large number of bookings for Dubai is the 'Dubai Shopping Festival' which is to be held from January 4, 2015 to February 4, 2015. Several Gujaratis are expected to fly to Dubai for the event and as SpiceJet is a low-cost airline, it has got maximum bookings.
On Wednesday, all the airline's flights were grounded across the country for about 10 hours till it paid Rs 3 crore as payment of what it owes to oil companies. The part payment enabled the airline to resume operations though only partly. Of its 243 listed flights, it claimed to have operated 75 across the country after 4pm on Wednesday.
December-January is the peak holiday season. This year, however, people who have planned vacations with their families long time back are contemplating change in schedule or airline bookings. "I have a booking with an airline for Hyderabad and Chennai which I will be visiting with my family during the Republic Day weekend in January. SpiceJet's Ahmedabad- Hyderabad flight is cancelled till December 31. Moreover, I have not got any information from the airline if the flight will resume in January," said Ashish Chauhan, a professional.
The troubles of Spicejet airlines seem no sign of abating. The air fares of other airlines on busy routes including Ahmedabad-Mumbai and Ahmedabad-Delhi are expected to rise by 20%.
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