In what may be called a gravity-defying business proposition, you can now fly with the Indian Railways. The railways ministry-controlled Indian Railways Tourism and Catering Corporation (IRCTC) has begun selling air tickets to passengers as part of its holiday tour packages.
?Train journeys are often long and can be very tiresome for passengers, especially those who are going on vacation to relax. So, we have decided to give them the option of flying instead of traveling by rail,? an IRCTC official told FE.
While the rail PSU has been offering air travel in its international tour packages to destinations like Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai for some time, it is now providing the option for domestic circuits as well. So, now IRCTC users can buy air tickets for travelling to Tirupati, Goa and Srinagar, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. Overall, there are 11 destinations (including international and domestic) where passengers can get air tickets.
But despite the obvious paradox of a rail PSU selling air tickets, for IRCTC, it makes good business sense. As part of its holiday packages, it provides accommodation, sight seeing and local transport apart from air or rail tickets. ?We make a margin of about 15% to 20% through hotel reservations and on sight seeing,? the official explained.
While the official conceded that the profit margins would be higher in rail tickets, the option of providing air travel attracts more passengers, especially for distant destinations like Tirupati, the Andamans and Lakshadweep. IRCTC is looking at extending air tickets to other domestic destinations as well, but will do so after gauging the initial response.
So far, the catering and tourism PSU has been successfully running the railways? online ticketing facility and offering special rail tour packages. But with the railway ministry taking over its lucrative catering business recently, IRCTC has been forced to explore fresh revenue sources. In 2007-08, departmental and licensee catering brought it over Rs 448 crore in revenue compared to around Rs 49 crore from internet ticketing and packaged tours.