Spice Jet vs Air Deccan
With the proliferation of low cost airlines in the Indian skies, I find comparing Air Deccan and Spice Jet irresistible. The comparison is based on my personal experiences and from a few reliable sources.
Aeroplanes :
Air Deccan has relatively newer A320s. Spice Jet's fleet looks quite old.
Staff :
Spice Jet has a more smiling and a cheerful staff than Air Deccan. I found them all over the airport and were more than willing to help passengers. The Spice Jet air hostesses are more courteous than their Deccan counterparts.
Snacks :
Deccan does not serve any kind of snack. Spice Jet serves 5 rupees worth of Ruffles' Lays/Haldiram's Seng, 200 ml of water worth 3 bucks(unlimited I guess) and one Alpenliebe candy worth 50 paise.
ID Checking :
From what I have heard from people, Air Deccan asks for ID proof only when you are flying on a cheap ticket. They always asked me for photo-id. Spice Jet guy asked me once for the positive id as they call it and on my return trip the girl did not bother to ask. That probably was because the flight was delayed.
Delays : Air Deccan flights are delayed most of the time. In the first month of Spice Jet's operation I heard that they were on time 91 % of the time.
Informing when delayed :
Deccan does this sometimes, whereas Spice guys don't do it yet.
I do not think that the above comparison is in any way going to affect the airlines you choose. Even if you earn a fat salary, you will go for the one that is cheapest. That's called The Middle Class Mentality.
PS: One of the untried way for impersonation that can be used. Get a railway identity card(costs 1 rupee) that accompanies a railway pass in Bombay suburban trains. You can get it from your friend who stays in Bombay. Put your photo on it and write the name of the person in whose name the ticket is booked. Laminate the card for an authentic look. Now you look like a railway employee. Of course don't try this trick at Bombay Airport. Please note that I live by my values and do not recommend impersonation.
Aeroplanes :
Air Deccan has relatively newer A320s. Spice Jet's fleet looks quite old.
Staff :
Spice Jet has a more smiling and a cheerful staff than Air Deccan. I found them all over the airport and were more than willing to help passengers. The Spice Jet air hostesses are more courteous than their Deccan counterparts.
Snacks :
Deccan does not serve any kind of snack. Spice Jet serves 5 rupees worth of Ruffles' Lays/Haldiram's Seng, 200 ml of water worth 3 bucks(unlimited I guess) and one Alpenliebe candy worth 50 paise.
ID Checking :
From what I have heard from people, Air Deccan asks for ID proof only when you are flying on a cheap ticket. They always asked me for photo-id. Spice Jet guy asked me once for the positive id as they call it and on my return trip the girl did not bother to ask. That probably was because the flight was delayed.
Delays : Air Deccan flights are delayed most of the time. In the first month of Spice Jet's operation I heard that they were on time 91 % of the time.
Informing when delayed :
Deccan does this sometimes, whereas Spice guys don't do it yet.
I do not think that the above comparison is in any way going to affect the airlines you choose. Even if you earn a fat salary, you will go for the one that is cheapest. That's called The Middle Class Mentality.
PS: One of the untried way for impersonation that can be used. Get a railway identity card(costs 1 rupee) that accompanies a railway pass in Bombay suburban trains. You can get it from your friend who stays in Bombay. Put your photo on it and write the name of the person in whose name the ticket is booked. Laminate the card for an authentic look. Now you look like a railway employee. Of course don't try this trick at Bombay Airport. Please note that I live by my values and do not recommend impersonation.
posted by Neel Arurkar | 8:07 AM
6 Comments:
Sir? Regarding your question I am sure whenever you have to travel you will make the best choice. If money is the criteria for comparison, then at times you may get Air Deccan tickets cheaper whereas at other times, Spice Jet tickets might be cheaper. If timeliness is a criteria, I found Spice Jet to be better even though my flight was late by 3 hours. An interesting fact to be stated here is that I wanted to travel from Blore to Bombay and inspite of Spice not having flights on that sector, I travelled till Pune and by bus thereafter. Thats the sort of compromise the middle class is ready to make to save money.
nice comparison...
I love that comment about the ass to aisle ratio :)) Those who have read computers would know about this term wypiwyg - i call it what you pay is what you get!! Compare spice and deccan to the coaches of "bhartiya rail", and compare the air hostesses with the pan-chewing TTEs and u will enjoy the difference and the flight as well :)
Het : i am too late in replying :-)
t~gr81~ : Lol! That is an interesting statistic :-)
PG : Agree with you. The common man is really thankful to Air Deccan for that..
Hey neel...
I was searching for "air deccan 1 rupee ", and guess where the search led me...
To the external blog of a very well known infoscion...
It is a happy coincidence..
I'm happy to see your blog here, and miss all the fun in Infy blogs...
Hi,
I will be flying with Spice from Varanasi to Delhi to meet my mother arriving into delhi airport at 23.30. The Spice flight is due to arrive at 17.30, that same day. Do you recommend I book this flight the day before she arrives or do you know from your experience that even with delays I should make it to Delhi airport on time?
Thank you
Lyn
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