Unexpected forex charges on flight tickets drives Indians away

Unexpected forex charges on flight tickets drives Indians away

A research found out that Indians do not continue with their foreign ticket booking when foreign exchange fees reach 5 per cent of the cost of a flight

PRAVASISAMWAD.COM

Research conducted by Amadeus along with psychological research firm Innovationbubble has found out that Indians do not continue with their foreign ticket booking when foreign exchange fees reach 5 per cent of the cost of a flight.

Apparently, almost 91 per cent of Indian travellers have experienced unexpected foreign exchange charges when purchasing tickets for a flight. The global average, incidentally is 76 per cent.

The Amadeus study points out that hidden charges often hike ticket prices. Around 89 per cent of global travellers said that they would more likely choose one airline over another if given the option to pay in their preferred currency. This percentage is highest for Indians where over 86 per cent said that they had decided against purchasing a flight from a particular airline due to foreign exchange fees making the overall cost too high.

Travellers’ conscious and subconscious reactions to different levels of forex fees were studied and it was found that travellers noticed forex fees when they reach 3 per cent of the total ticket price. As for foreign exchange fees, 26 per cent of Indian travellers were reported to pay higher foreign exchange fees than all other regions, while globally travellers paid 14 per cent higher forex fees

More than one-third of the respondents paid between 3-10 per cent of the total cost of a flight to make the payment in their own currency, with 14 per cent having been charged more than 10 per cent of the total flight cost. The vast majority of travellers (76 per cent) reported unexpected forex charges when purchasing a flight.

Amadeus and Innovationbubble did this global study of 5,500 regular flyers including respondents from India, China and Japan. Travellers’ conscious and subconscious reactions to different levels of forex fees were studied and it was found that travellers noticed forex fees when they reach 3 per cent of the total ticket price. As for foreign exchange fees, 26 per cent of Indian travellers were reported to pay higher foreign exchange fees than all other regions, while globally travellers paid 14 per cent higher forex fees.

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