Low cost carrier, Indigo, on Monday said that some seats may be available without any extra selection charge, subject to market dynamics.
Indigo’s clarification came on a day when the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said it was reviewing fees (levied by Indigo) to see whether they fall within the unbundled pricing framework.
The Gurgaon-based airline had earlier tweeted to a passenger saying that from November 16, as per its revised policy, all seats (window, middle and aisle) will be chargeable for web check-in.
On Monday, Indigo clarified to say that while preferred seat pricing started for as low as ₹100, there would be some seats that would be available for free depending on market dynamics for that flight.
“Thus there are some seats that are available for free before certain time period before departure (e.g. one day before departure) on a certain aircraft type (e.g. ATR operated type),” the airline said in a statement.
Indigo further added that if passengers have no particular preference for seats and would not like to pay for advance seat selection, they can either reserve any free seat available at the time of web check-in or will be assigned seats at the time of airport check-in.
“This is a common practice followed by airlines across the globe. The customers can always get the seat at the airport kiosk check-in or counter though it may not guarantee that they would get the seat of their choice,” an airline spokespeople said.
IndiGo charges between ₹100-800 for selection online, depending upon the position of the seat.