BudgetAir India

BudgetAir India: flight comparison site and online travel agency based in India

BudgetAir India is an online travel agency operating in the Indian market and part of the Travix group, owner of the brands CheapTickets, Vliegwinkel, Vayama, Flugladen and BudgetAir. Travix, in turn, became part of Trip.com Group Limited (Nasdaq: TCOM). The parent company maintains its head office in Amsterdam (Netherlands) and has offices in the United Kingdom, India, United States and Singapore. Travix's operations span 39 countries.

According to the company's own presentation, BudgetAir India was founded in 2001 and describes itself as one of the fastest-growing online travel agencies in the region. Its offering focuses on comparing and booking flights to any worldwide destination, from and to any airport.

Flight comparison and airline coverage

BudgetAir India's search engine allows you to compare flights from more than 500 airlines, both low-cost and full-service, covering over 9,000 destinations worldwide. Among the airlines expressly mentioned on the website are Vistara, Air India, IndiGO, Singapore Airlines, Saudia, Etihad Airways, Emirates and Turkish Airlines.

The platform supports different booking types: return, one way and multi-city. The multi-city option allows you to combine several flights in a single booking, which is useful when your return flight departs from a different airport than the one you arrived at. There is also the option to filter for direct flights.

Complementary services: hotels, cars and other products

In addition to flights, BudgetAir India offers hotel booking from a database of more than 100,000 properties and car rental with more than 1,600 suppliers, through CarTrawler. The company states that it also sells other travel products such as insurance, transportation and luggage.

Target audience and featured routes

The agency targets travellers planning from India short-distance trips, such as Goa, Dubai or Singapore, as well as long-haul journeys to London, Toronto or New York. The website organises destinations by region (Asia, North America, Europe, Africa, South America and Oceania) and highlights popular countries such as India, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nepal, Singapore, Hong Kong, United States, Bahrain, Australia, Thailand and United Kingdom.

Money-saving tips and how pricing works

The site includes recommendations for finding lower fares: search on Tuesdays and consider flying on Wednesdays, book 4 to 6 weeks in advance for domestic and short-haul flights, and 3 to 5 months in advance for long-haul trips. It also suggests trying flexible dates, comparing departure airports (Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad or nearby airports) and checking the deals page for discount codes and airline promotions.

The company explains that flight prices are dynamic and vary depending on how far in advance you book, how full the aircraft is, fuel costs, airport fees and seasonal demand. It notes that booking early generally offers the best price, although last-minute deals can be worthwhile for flexible travellers.

Booking, security and customer service

BudgetAir India states that the booking process is secure and that it has an English-speaking customer service team. The company is affiliated with IATA (International Air Transport Association) and receives traveller reviews on Trustpilot. For booking, the website recommends entering your name exactly as it appears on your passport or travel document, with first name and surname, without a middle name, and reviewing the details before confirming, as changing a name after booking can be costly.

As an incentive for new customers, the company offers a discount of 270 INR on the next flight booking when you subscribe to the newsletter. The return fares shown on the website are per person, include taxes and exclude a 799 INR booking fee.