The Country’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), an Indian entity responsible for implementing new regulations affecting aviation, announced a wide-ranging suite of reforms designed to change how airline companies operate and promote positive travel experiences to all travelers in India flying on aircraft.

This reform deal includes several rules designed to enhance transparency for passengers and improve consumer protections, including requirements for airlines to reserve a large portion of available seat inventory on a flight for free, provide for families traveling together to be given seating, clarify the airline’s rules regarding the handling of baggage (including lost baggage), and include a clear display of passenger rights when booking a flight.

By mandating at least 60% of a flight’s available seat inventory be made available without additional passenger costs, the DGCA is eliminating the ability for airlines’ to charge for the selection of passengers’ desired area to sit on a plane.

The purpose of this rule is to eliminate the growing trend of airline carriers charging fees for the selection of passenger seats based on the preferred type of seating (such as a window or an exit row) or the amount of adult passenger legroom available for a seat in a passenger’s row. 

While the airlines state that the selection for a specific seat on an individual flight is optional, there are numerous passenger complaints about the inability to find and/or select a preferred seat to travel on during the booking process using the various airlines’ websites.

To enforce this new rule, the DGCA requires that airlines provide the majority of their seats to be available to passengers so there will be no airline fees in addition to the base airline fare for the available retained seat.The goal of this regulation is to ensure travellers do not feel pressured to pay more than the going rate for a seat.

Regulators feel that this provides greater fairness in ticketing while still giving airlines enough flexibility to continue providing premium seating for an additional charge.

Family Groups Must Be Seated Together

Yup, no “Kabhi khushi kabhie gham” inside the aircraft anymore! 

One of the major complaints from family and group travellers has been assigned seats, which are often located apart from each other. Airlines have been mandated that passengers with the same PNR (Passenger Name Record) must be seated as close together as possible. Additionally, since families with young children and seniors often suffer greatly due to the inconvenience caused by airlines separating them in rows or sections of the aircraft, this requirement is expected to assist in improving the flying experience for this large population.

More Transparent Rules Regarding Baggage And Equipment Policies

The new regulations also require airlines to create clear and simple policies regarding all types of baggage and/or equipment that is transported by an airline. Examples include how to package and transport sporting equipment, musical instruments and pets.

Passengers have regularly encountered confusion about how airlines handle their baggage or equipment, including whether the items need to be packaged or will incur any additional fees or if they will be allowed to carry the item(s) into. 

Airlines are now required to submit and publish very detailed policies regarding transporting certain items, safety conditions and what fees/charges may be imposed. This directive was provided by the government in an effort to eliminate uncertainty for travellers carrying non-standard baggage, which has always had the potential for inconsistency.

Stronger Rights for Passengers in Times of Disruption

The regulation mandates that airlines continue to assist passengers who experience delays, cancellations or are denied boarding that fall under Passenger Rights regulations.

Basically, that moment at the airport where you can’t find anything and Rajnikanth’s “kyun, hila dala na” meme is constantly playing in your mind, yeah, that’s when this service will get extremely real and helpful. 

There are already regulations that outline the minimum assistance and compensation airlines must provide during disruption. Typically, they include meal allowances, hotel accommodation and refunds depending on how long the passenger was delayed and/or the reason for the delay.

Regulators believe that by enforcing the rules identified above, they will achieve the desired outcome of treating passengers fairly during operational disruption and better resolve a large number of grievances with operational disruption.

Increased Visibility of Passenger Rights

The purpose of the passenger rights enhancements will be to ensure that passengers have knowledge of their rights.

Airlines must now provide clear information about passenger rights in multiple locations, including:

• Airline websites

• Mobile applications

• Online reservations

• Airport counters/help desks

The intent of this function is to help passengers understand their entitlements before and during their journey.

Provision of Information in Regional Languages

Because of the many languages that are spoken in India, the directive requires the passenger rights information be provided in any language native to a particular passenger as well as in English and Hindi. 

This will enable travellers from the different areas of the country to obtain critical information about compensation, baggage rules and passenger rights regardless of whether they speak English.

Regional rizz is also flying with you now 😉 

Improving the Overall Passenger Experience

The above reforms are part of a larger strategy to create an easier, more convenient, and inclusive way for people to travel.

YAY! 

Some recent initiatives introduced to improve passenger experience are:

• Affordable food options at the airport through the UDAN Yatri Café initiative

• Publicly available Wi-Fi at many airports

• Flybrary initiative, allowing travellers to borrow books while travelling

These initiatives provide industry stakeholders with an opportunity to enhance traveller ease as well as provide travellers with a more comfy-cozy experience when utilizing the airports and those airlines that operate within an airport.

Currently, India is the 3rd largest domestic aviation market (casual flex) and with a significant growth rate in the number of passengers using air travel, the government is placing increasing focus on transitioning from simply considering airline economics to considering the rights of consumers.

Ultimately, the government has issued public policies that will change the focus of aviation from simply the aircraft to ultimately the passenger as a priority focus for future regulatory efforts.