Railways cashes in on web check-in controversy, takes a dig at airlines

As airlines were at the receiving end of customers’ wrath with their decision to charge for web check-ins, the Indian Railways, in an apparent dig at budget-carrier IndiGo, tweeted on Monday, "Why pay a premium for web-check-ins on flights...when you can just take a train? (sic)".

This is the second time in the past week the railways attacked the airlines. "No need to pay extra charges for Web-Checkins. No long queues for checking in your luggage. Avoid unreasonable tariff & reduce your carbon footprint by travelling on the good old Indian Railways at affordable rates," the tweet from the Ministry of Railways said. The post was also shared on the ministry's Facebook page.

No need to pay extra charges for Web-Checkins. No long queues for checking in your luggage. Avoid unreasonable tariff & reduce your carbon footprint by travelling on the good old Indian Railways at affordable rates. pic.twitter.com/ks9fVphoLO

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) November 26, 2018

Read More | Kolkata Airport: Passenger detained over 'threat to blow up plane'

IndiGo, which has a domestic market share of nearly 43 per cent, has been levying charges for booking seats in advance through web check-ins from November 14. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has said it would review the decision.

In the July-September quarter, IndiGo, SpiceJet and Jet Airways suffered losses because of spiralling operational costs, forcing them to look for ways to increase their revenues from ancillary services.

On November 22, the closure of a runway at the Delhi airport since November 15 prompted the railways to increase coaches in its trains between Mumbai and Delhi, as airfares skyrocketed by 86 per cent. The national transporter prepared to ferry around 500 additional passengers daily throughout the closure.

Also Read | Jet Airways cancels 10 flights from Mumbai, hundreds stranded at CSMIA airport

Just after the flexi-fare scheme was introduced by the railways in 2016, Air India brought out posters that went viral on social media: "Now Air India SPOT FARES cheaper than Rajdhani (IIA) FLEXI FARES."

Last month, the railways had scrapped the flexi-fares in 15 premium trains in which the occupancy is less than 50 per cent throughout the year.