News Roll
Ministry Proposes To Reduce
Flight Cancellation charges
I
ndia’s aviation ministry has proposed a treat for which Indian flyers
have been waiting for years. It is in the form of low cancellation fees,
or paying no charges at all for canceling flights.
If the ministry’s draft propsal gets approved, travellers will be able to
cancel tickets for departures scheduled more than four days later, free of
cost within 24 hours of booking the journey.
In addition, passengers will be allowed to amend their journey details,
without attracting penalties in the first 24 hours of purchasing a ticket.
However, these concessions will not apply to departures scheduled
within the next 96 hours or four days.
Referring to the Draft Charter of Passenger Rights, Jayant Sinha,
Minister of State for Civil Aviation, said: “No cancellation charges will
apply on tickets within 24 hours of their booking, provided the tickets
are booked 96 hours before the flight’s departure.”
The government has also proposed that the flight cancellation fee
should not exceed base fares. These suggestions are part of the Draft
Passenger Charter that is expected to be taken up for discussions.
Other provisions include demand for compensation for missing a
connecting flight due to an airline’s fault. The proposed compensation
ranges from `5,000 for a delay of three hours to `20,000 for more than
12 hours. The final draft will be released in July. If approved, the rules
will apply to travel portals and agents, and not just airlines.
Meanwhile, airline companies have opposed the move. Aviation
secretary R N Choubey said that the final rules will keep in mind the
interests of both airlines and flyers, with more weightage to passenger
rights.
By Suyash Desai
20
Outlook Money June 2018 www.outlookmoney.com
India Will Have
357 Billionaires
In Ten Years
India has the third largest number
of billionaires in the world and as
many as 238 additional individuals
will join this elite club in the next
decade, according to the AfrAsia
Bank Global Wealth Migration
2018 Review.
According to the report, India
currently has 119 billionaires and
this number is expected to go up
to 357 by 2027.
In comparison to China, India’s
number appears modest. China is
likely to add 448 to its existing list.
In the next 10 years, the
United States is likely to have the
maximum number of billionaires
at 884, followed by China (697),
and India (357) in the second and
third positions, respectively.
Countries expected to follow
are Russia (142), United Kingdom
(113), Germany (90) and Hong
Kong (78). Currently, there are
2,252 billionaires across the world
and this number is expected to
increase to 3,444 by 2027.
In terms of total wealth, India is
the sixth wealthiest country on the
list with a total wealth of $8,230
billion. The world’s wealthiest is
the United States, followed by
China and Japan.
According to the report, global
wealth is expected to rise by 50
per cent over the next decade. In
2017 the global wealth rose by
12 per cent. The fastest growing
markets are expected to be Sri
Lanka, India, Vietnam, China and
Mauritius.
Factors like the growth of
entrepreneurs, good educational
system, robust IT outlook, business
process outsourcing as well as the
real estate, healthcare and media
sectors will be responsible for the
predicted growth in case of India,
the report states.
By Suyash Desai