Know All About Senior Citizen Discount On Flights?

Travelling has become accessible to people of all ages, including senior citizens. Compared to before, many older adults spend their time and money travelling and exploring the world. To give these types of travellers an impetus, several airlines offer older adult flight discounts to tap into this vast market.

Discount flights for such travellers are completely at the discretion of the airline. It is not a standard practice to offer these concessions; the discount amount depends solely on the airline. Some airlines may not offer any concession on flight booking at all.

Here are the senior citizen discounts offered by different airlines in India:

Air India

Air India offers a discount on domestic travel in economy classes for senior citizens of Indian nationality and permanent residents of India who are at least 60 years of age on the travel date.

The discount is available on tickets in economy cabins for one-way or round-trip bookings within India. However, standard fees apply for flight changes, cancellations, or refunds. The discount does not apply to codeshare flights.

IndiGo

IndiGo offers a 6% discount on the base fare for passengers over 60. This discount is applicable on domestic flights. In order to enjoy this benefit, a valid photo ID with a date of birth is required, such as a PAN card, Voter’s ID, or Aadhar card. The discount is applicable only on select booking classes in the Economy cabin.

SpiceJet:

SpiceJet offers an 8% discount on the base fare of its domestic and international flights for all its senior citizen flyers. Again, the senior citizen must carry a valid photo ID with a date of birth.

GoAir

GoAir offers an 8% discount on the base fare of its domestic and international flights for all its senior citizen flyers.

Vistara

Vistara offers a 10% base fare discount when booking your Economy Class ticket. The discount is applicable only to senior citizens.

Note:  

• As you have noticed, in most cases, airlines offer a discount on the base airfare component of the flight. This discount percentage differs from airline to airline. However, the senior citizen must pay all types of taxes and fees on the ticket booking.
• It is to be noted that the number of discount flights and seats offered is at the airline's discretion, so it is impossible to predict the number of seats available. These flights don’t have the facility of web check-in. The senior citizen traveller has to check in at the counter at the airport.

While booking tickets, it is important to add the concession as a choice while putting in the airport and the dates. That will result in a discounted fare. All other taxes, fees, and convenience charges over and above the base flight rate are payable by the senior citizen. Usually, these discounted rates are only available for flights within India. They are applicable on both one-way and round-trip flights. As a condition of booking these flights, the senior citizen travelling is expected to show adequate identity proof that shows the date of birth and age.

While booking the airfare, check out an airfare comparison website such as SmartBuy by HDFC. This will pull up the cheapest flight fare available with the convenience fees. If the total fare is cheaper under this option, you can buy a regular ticket and get conveniences like web check-in.

Looking to book flight tickets with a senior citizens discount? Click here to get the best prices on HDFC Bank SmartBuy now!

Looking to get the best flight deals? Check out this article on how to compare flights for the best deal!

*Terms and Conditions apply. The information provided in this article is generic in nature and for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for specific advice in your own circumstances.