India's Civil Aviation Ministry puts 60% free-seat directive on hold
Airlines' revenue teams no longer required to allocate 60% of seats free immediately
Change
India's Civil Aviation Ministry kept its March instruction to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to require airlines to offer 60% of flight seats without additional charges in abeyance, pausing the April 20 enforcement until further orders.
Why it matters
The ministry's abeyance leaves existing seat-selection rules intact: currently only 20% of seats are selectable without additional charges. The pause follows representations from airlines citing operational and commercial implications, including potential effects on fare structures and consistency with the deregulated tariff regime.
Implications
- — India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) must suspend any implementation or enforcement steps to mandate a 60% free-seat allocation immediately — the Civil Aviation Ministry has kept the directive in abeyance until further orders.
- — Airlines' revenue-management and operations teams must retain current seat-selection pricing and booking-system configurations and must not reconfigure systems to deliver a 60% free-seat allocation until the ministry issues further orders — implementing changes now would conflict with the ministry's abeyance.
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Source
View on Economic Times