….

There was a time when we had no choice in travel..Indian Railways, or Indian Airlines. Now there is a bewildering array of airlines, and the fares are so attractive that it doesn’t make sense to go by train. But it has taken me the better part of 2 hours to compare prices, compare timings, and book the tickets and pay for them.

And then I remind myself that a few years ago this would have meant repeated trips to the travel agent or the airport or something like that, for vastly higher fares, so I decide that I am better off than before.

But while booking I remember the newspaper accounts of the losses posted by all the airlines operating in India…I wonder when the bubble will burst. I deliberately do not book the Rs.221- fares that are offered….(not that I will ever get to the net in time to book these!)…but of course I want a low fare, who doesn’t?…and am uneasily aware that with the present costs, the airline is underselling the tickets that I have just bought….Economics vs.social conscience doesn’t make an easy combination!