I travel on domestic sectors in India about 120 flights per annum, and am pretty much into the art of reducing costs for myself as well as my company. Food on board is not a priority, since it invariably doesn’t matter for frequent fliers.
Schedules and costs as well as safety and basic comfort are the big issues with me.
I used SPICEJET twice within a month of it being launched, and would use it again if schedules and fares were in position with my requirements. (On fares, it is amazing to note that on some routes the ’’no frills’’ airlines end up charging more than the reduced fares of the ’’full-service’’ airlines. Probably because people have a perception that lesser is cheaper.)
The low-end fares sell out very soon, so if you are seeing high fares, check with the other airlines also. There is a perception that no-frills airlines are cheaper - that is not really correct.
Ticketing facilities at counters can improve, much better (and 50/- cheaper) to buy over the Internet. Their website for booking / buying / amending is the best in India on date. Includes seat selection, and the best seats are:-
2DEF for rapid exit and legroom, though you end up staring at the wall.
16ACDF for maximum legroom and recline. (not available on web)
15ACDF for good legroom but no recline. (not available on web)
There is no food on board, just some peanuts / chips, but ample drinking water. A full plane is very crowded. On my flights it was full of holiday crowd, children, never a dull moment. Seems to be more colourful crowd than on regular airlines. Many first time flyers too.
Cabin crew seems to be efficient, and make 2-3 garbage collection rounds.
There is no Frequent Flyer scheme at present.
I have reviewed certain earlier experiences I had and am very impressed with the way this airline has shaped up in efficiencies.
Edited on 06april’06 - it has been observed that the full-service airlines like Jet/Sahara/Kingfisher and Indian are now matching and sometimes providing lower fares than the low-cost/no-frill airlines like Air Deccan and Spicejet. Please do check the full-service airlines for lower fares too.