I am in the final few days of my Air India Flying Returns Gold tier membership at the moment, and I still haven’t figured out how to re-qualify on this miser program which only (re)qualifies you on number of status miles and not flights or tier points. However, I recently needed to change a ticket which was booked directly with the carrier for myself, and I figured I’d look up the rules again to know if they increased the fee for cancellations or changes with elites.
To the best of what I remembered, Air India charged Gold members a fixed INR 200 to change or cancel a ticket on any fare class. When I checked in on the website, I was surprised to note new terms for members which stated:
Similarly for Gold Club:
For Silver tier members, the fee is a fixed 1000 INR.
I was surprised to note these changes, and while Air India has a slightly tedious process to get the refund back (you first need to get someone on the phone to write notes on the PNR stating that cancellation fee is Nil), then send an email to Air India to process the refund, I figured I would write about this benefit because most of us may be able to use it.
Bottomline
For the domestic traveller, Air India and Jet Airways are both offering their elite members the opportunity to change and cancel tickets for free. This makes sense as plans for the frequent fliers change last minute, and I’d certainly hope those who patronise Air India would be using this facility.
How has been your cancelation/rescheduling experience as an Air India elite member?
Just hope that Vistara adopts the same policy. It would make way more sense to be Vistara member. As Jet Platinum member, I change my plans all the time without worrying about every single dime.
I have cancelled Air India tickets as a gold member in the past. While it is true that you have to call and them email to get the cancellation done and refund processed, it has worked out fine in the end. A welcome addition would be where they allow cancellation and refund of tickets online.