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Railway passengers are going to have something to be happy about in the future, with a new system of giving away flight tickets for waitlisted passengers. If you have booked a ticket and it is not confirmed and is waitlisted, then the IRCTC will offer flight tickets in lieu of the rail tickets which helps you to complete the journey by air for a competitive fare. GoAir has come on board with this plan along with the Railways PSU and have sold nearly 100 tickets for waitlisted railway passengers.

This is a fantastic initiative and there are discussions going on about a possible tie-up expansion with SpiceJet along with other domestic carriers adding to the scheme. This will be valid for the passengers who have booked their tickets at least three days in advance. The waitlisted passengers will be notified via an e-mail about the offer, so that they can decide, whether they would like to take up the offer, if they want to convert their waitlisted railway ticket to a flight ticket at an additional cost but competitive when compared to the market rates.

By Premji