Airport charges!! w00t!
Ok, I am not sure how this works out but from what I could gather from this report, the new airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore are going to charge something between Rs. 675 -1000 (Indian Rupees) every time someone decides to catch a flight from these places. This cost is over and above the "1. Fuel Surcharge + 2. Passenger Service Fee + 3. Air Traffic Congestion Fee" amounting to Rs.2025 that one has to pay as taxes for each ticket bought.
"Hyderabad International Airport Ltd is going to charge Rs 1,000 for international outgoing passengers and Rs 725 for domestic outgoing, while Bangalore International Airport Ltd will levy Rs 955 and Rs 675 for these, respectively. Taxes are over and above these charges."
I am not based in either of the two cities , but in Pune, which has its own share of wierdness related to air-travel, especially in my case,
First up, there are only three flights out from here that go to Kolkata (my hometown) and all of them are hoppers:
1. Jet Airways : flight out at 5:30 PM, reaches Kolkata at 9:30 PM (via Bombay)
2. Kingfisher: flight out at 5:30 PM, reaches Kolkata at 9:50 PM (via Ahmedabad)
3. Kingfisher ATR: flight out at 2:10 PM, reaches Kolkata at 8:40 PM (via Indore and Raipur)
(Just for the records, #3 always costs around Rs.2000 more than #2 and no one in their right mind would book on that flight for the entire sector. Its an ATR afterall and takes 6 hours!!)
The other way round the timings are like this:
1. Jet Airways : flight out at 6:05 AM, reaches Pune at 10:00 AM (via Bombay)
2. Kingfisher: flight out at 6:45 AM, reaches Pune at 11:00 PM (via Ahmedabad)
3. Kingfisher ATR: flight out at 7:15 AM, reaches Pune at 1:30 PM (via Indore and Raipur)
Add 1:30 hours more to the commute from the Kolkata airport to my home. The morning flights are such timed that one has to wake up at 3 in the morning. I don't know which terminal city in this case is an obscure destination, but given the number of Pune-based, Kolkata bound travellers we travel with from Mumbai (3-4 hours away from Pune by road) its pretty easy to assume that the flights would generally not be empty, if only
1. the prices were not so prohitive and,
2. the timings more convenient
One way fares between Pune-Kolkata starts from Rs.8000, which would be equal to the roundtrip fare between Mumbai-Kolkata.
And lets not even talk about the way the commercial jets take off from and land at this tiny little airport.
"Hyderabad International Airport Ltd is going to charge Rs 1,000 for international outgoing passengers and Rs 725 for domestic outgoing, while Bangalore International Airport Ltd will levy Rs 955 and Rs 675 for these, respectively. Taxes are over and above these charges."
I am not based in either of the two cities , but in Pune, which has its own share of wierdness related to air-travel, especially in my case,
First up, there are only three flights out from here that go to Kolkata (my hometown) and all of them are hoppers:
1. Jet Airways : flight out at 5:30 PM, reaches Kolkata at 9:30 PM (via Bombay)
2. Kingfisher: flight out at 5:30 PM, reaches Kolkata at 9:50 PM (via Ahmedabad)
3. Kingfisher ATR: flight out at 2:10 PM, reaches Kolkata at 8:40 PM (via Indore and Raipur)
(Just for the records, #3 always costs around Rs.2000 more than #2 and no one in their right mind would book on that flight for the entire sector. Its an ATR afterall and takes 6 hours!!)
The other way round the timings are like this:
1. Jet Airways : flight out at 6:05 AM, reaches Pune at 10:00 AM (via Bombay)
2. Kingfisher: flight out at 6:45 AM, reaches Pune at 11:00 PM (via Ahmedabad)
3. Kingfisher ATR: flight out at 7:15 AM, reaches Pune at 1:30 PM (via Indore and Raipur)
Add 1:30 hours more to the commute from the Kolkata airport to my home. The morning flights are such timed that one has to wake up at 3 in the morning. I don't know which terminal city in this case is an obscure destination, but given the number of Pune-based, Kolkata bound travellers we travel with from Mumbai (3-4 hours away from Pune by road) its pretty easy to assume that the flights would generally not be empty, if only
1. the prices were not so prohitive and,
2. the timings more convenient
One way fares between Pune-Kolkata starts from Rs.8000, which would be equal to the roundtrip fare between Mumbai-Kolkata.
And lets not even talk about the way the commercial jets take off from and land at this tiny little airport.