Optiontown talking to Air India, Jet for ticket upgrade service

NEW DELHI: After having signed up Kingfisher Airlines, travel services provider Optiontown is now talking to Jet Airways and Air India to offer their passengers the choice to upgrade from economy to first class at a fraction of the normal cost.

Optiontown, which has developed proprietary software for the service 'upgrade travel option (UTo)', said the service can help save up to 75 per cent on the full upgrade fare.

"We are talking to Jet Airways and Air India to offer their passenger the upgrade facility and various other services that we have," Optiontown Chief Executive Officer Sachin Goel said.

"A passenger can log onto our website after buying a ticket and, depending upon availability, upgrade to a higher class by paying a nominal fee," Goel said.

He said that the cost of moving to a higher class through the company will be about Rs 2,500-3,000 for domestic travel and Rs 15,000-20,000 for foreign destinations, against almost twice these rates in the normal course.

The company is offering the service globally and apart from Kingfisher in India, it has also tied up with Scandinavian Airlines and Air Canada, he said.