72% Air Passengers Complain Of High Water Price On Flights: Survey Reveals

What according to you is the average cost of a domestic air ticket? Maybe, it's somewhere between Rs. 3500-4000 on a regular day. Now, if you add some food or beverage service, the travel cost increases at least by 10 percent. And that remains a concern for all. We have frequently come across news regarding passengers complaining about the price of a cup of tea or a bottle of water. Now, with a more comprehensive approach, a recent survey found that hundreds of passengers have complained about how airlines are selling food and water at much higher prices than the printed amount (MRP).

The survey was conducted by a community social media platform, named LocalCircle. They received a total of 22,000 responses from consumers across 322 districts across the country. According to the result, around 72 percent of the surveyed air passengers complained of bottled water being sold onboard flights at a higher published Maximum Retail Price (MRP) than the one in regular markets in the last 12 months, while 59 percent had a similar complaint about packaged food.

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The platform also stated that they conducted the survey based on the complaints voiced by airline passengers over the last 12 months, to "understand the magnitude of the issue of dual MRP onboard flights".

"LocalCircles, over the last 12 months has received hundreds of complaints from consumers where they have been charged a significantly higher price when buying packaged food or water onboard their flight. This is despite the Government guidelines and orders by the national commission prohibiting identical pre-packaged products from having different MRPs at different locations," a statement on the official website of LocalCircle reads.

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The statement further explained that on June 23, 2017, the government amended the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, effectively banning dual MRP, and that came into effect from January 1, 2018, following the official notification by the Government. "However, in practice, this rule is still not being followed strictly due to lack of proper enforcement," it added. Click here to read the detailed survey.

Meanwhile, here are some quick tips to follow if you want to avoid buying food on a flight:

1. Avoid eating on short-distance flights.

2. Instead of buying a water bottle, just ask the cabin crew for regular water in a cup.

3. Carry some dry fruits and nuts to nibble.   

4. If you have flights on hours, carry sandwiches, biscuits, paratha rolls, and other such fuss-free foods to have on the go.

5. For a kick of caffeine, instead of buying coffee or tea, just take a bite of chocolate - and you are good to go.

If you have any such idea to avoid spending on flight foods, then share it with us in the comments below. Have a nice day!