Web check-in row: IndiGo denies revising policy after outrage by flyers; but says will charge for 'advance selection' of seats

A day after reports claimed that IndiGo revised its web check-in policy by making all seats chargeable, the low-cost carrier on Monday clarified that it “neither changed its web check-in policy nor was there any charge for web check-in”, said a report by moneycontrol. The Gurugram-headquartered no-frills carrier, however, said that it would charge for “advance selection” of seats if passengers wanted to reserve seats of their choice on their flight during web check-in process.

As per our revised policy, all seats will be chargeable for web check-in. Alternatively, you may check-in at the airport for free. Seats will be assigned as per the availability. ~Prabh

— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) November 25, 2018

“While the preferred seat pricing starts as low as Rs 100, there would be some seats that may be available for free depending on the market dynamics for the flight…,” stated the airline in a statement, the report said, adding a free check-in at the airport would not guarantee passengers a seat of their choice. The issue kicked up a row following a tweet by an IndiGo official handle in reply to the query by a customer on 25 November that “as per our revised policy, all seats will be chargeable for web check-in. Alternatively, you may check-in at the airport for free. Seats will be assigned as per the availability.” When the same customer asked the airline when did they initiate it, IndiGo, which has a domestic market share of nearly 43 percent, replied that their revised seat policy was effective from 14 November, 2018. After protest by flyers, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said on Monday that it would review the decision of the airline.  The ministry has noted that airlines are now charging for web check-in for all seats. “We are reviewing this fees to see whether they fall within the unbundled pricing framework,” it added.