Waitlisted Rajdhani train passengers to get seat on Air India

Air India and the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) are coming up with an arrangement where wait-listed passengers can opt for this feature.

Officials said the provision will be introduced in a week or two as both Air India and IRCTC have formalised the agreement.

As per the system, the wait-listed passengers on Rajdhani trains would have the choice of booking an Air India flight if the national carrier has service on the route. IRCTC would offer tickets to such passengers. While the wait-listed passengers of AC First Class of Rajdhani trains would not have to pay any additional amount in case they decide to take an Air India flight.

However, the Second and Third AC class passengers may have to shell out up to Rs 2,000



per ticket as additional amount. This could help Air India improve its passenger load. At present, around 20-25% seats remain unfilled in the Air India flights.

The national carrier is also looking at expanding its operation as it looks to increase regional air connectivity. The airline is planning to operate more number of smaller aircraft. Air India’s subsidiary Air Alliance is planning to increase the number of ATRs in its fleet to 35 in the next four years from the existing seven ATRs.

The national carrier’s Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani held discussions with officials from 16 states, most of whom also expressed willingness to provide viability gap funding to the carrier if they operated on regional centres.