Easy come, easy go

Three simple steps to get yourself an air ticket.

What is it?
A facility from travel portal Makemytrip and wireless transaction platform PayMate that lets you search, book and pay for your air tickets via SMS.

How does it work?
Three simple steps and your tickets are booked. Step one: send an SMS to 676778 stating the cities that you wish to fly between and the date of your travel. You are then sent an SMS with eight flight options. Step two is where you reply to this SMS giving your name and choosing a flight. In case you are unhappy with the first eight options you can SMS "more" to the same number. And step three is where you pay for the ticket.

If you are a PayMate user, you can pay using the PayMate PIN; if not, your ticket is booked through the Makemytrip call centre. You can use PayMate if you have a Citibank credit or debit card. The company is also exploring a tieup with Corporation Bank.

What are the damages?
The cost of the SMS will vary depending on your mobile service provider. For Hutch users, each SMS will cost Rs 3, so the entire transaction will cost Rs 9.

What's in it for me?
You need no Internet connection, no computer, no high-end mobile handset, nor the services of a specific mobile service provider. All you need is a mobile phone which allows you to send text messages. All the airfare options thrown up are the same as the ones that appear on the Makemytrip website and are sorted as per price with the cheapest fare coming first.

Why are we writing about it?
The tie-up between Makemytrip and PayMate is not the first of its kind. Travel portal Flightraja provides this service, but it is available to Hutch users only. Cleartrip too has a similar service, the only difference being that you can only search for air tickets and the facility is available on select service providers.

Take it or leave it?
It makes sense if you do not have broadband access. Also, most travel portals are latching on to this trend and soon they will look at providing hotel bookings through this mode as well. The only glitch is that the prices displayed are not the cheapest, you may discover a lower price on the airlines' own websites.

SNIPPETS

Desert rose
Flying first or business class on Emirates? Well if you are flying to or via Dubai, you can stay over at any of the deluxe hotels. First Class passengers get two complimentary nights in a deluxe room at the Ritz Carlton Dubai, while Business Class passengers can stay overnight in a deluxe room at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers.

The accommodation includes breakfast and all applicable taxes and service charges. You can also choose between $100 credit at the hotels (it can be used to buy food, beverages or for spa facilities) or a Sundowner dune dinner safari. The offer also includes a 96-hour visa. This offer is valid between 15th June and 31st August.

Fare enough!
Suddenly, everybody wants to fly to India. Some want to fly to more. Singapore Airlines has announced its 50th flight to India with the launch of its eighth weekly flight to Chennai. The new service that comes into effect from Sunday, June 24, 2007, will help boost capacity by almost 14 per cent to the capital city of Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, Swiss has added its second destination in India after Mumbai. The carrier will now fly to Delhi. More related news: Tiger Airways, a budget carrier from Singapore, has received an air permit from India to operate flights from Singapore to Indian destinations. The budget carrier has already been granted rights to fly from the city-state to six Indian cities "" Kolkata, Chennai, Kochi, Goa, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.

While the rates for the India leg have not been finalised yet, "a 50-60 per cent slash" from "legacy airline" rates is expected. In money terms, that would mean a Kolkata-Singapore ticket for Rs 6,000 (approx), against the present norm of Rs 14,000 (approx).