Calcutta, July 25: Passengers inconvenienced by frequent cancellation of flights of low-cost carrier Air Deccan can take heart. They can now take a Jet Airways flight in case of a cancellation. This has been made possible by a tie-up between Air Deccan and Jet Airways.

Under the agreement, Jet passengers can also avail of Deccan services if a flight is cancelled.

Deccan already has such an agreement with SpiceJet. This is a general industry practice whereby carriers help each other out in case of any cancellation.

Since Deccan did not have such an agreement with any of the bigger carriers like Jet or Indian, most of its passengers either had to wait for a new Deccan flight or simply cancel the ticket.

Since the two airlines have a combined market share of 50 per cent, this arrangement will help tap every second domestic air traveller.

Warwick Brady, chief operating officer of Air Deccan, said the trial has been going on for a month now.

Even as two airlines have different price points, passengers will not have to pay up the differential.

This agreement is part of a composite dialogue being carried out by Jet and Deccan. Brady said Deccan would pursue such arrangements with other carriers as well.

Air Deccan managing director G.R. Gopinath told The Telegraph that the airline was also negotiating an arrangement, whereby a Jet international passenger would be offered a composite fare to fly to any part in India.

Under this arrangement, a passenger can book a London-to-Jalandhar ticket. Jet will fly the person from London to Mumbai while Deccan will take him to Jalandhar. The passenger will only pay a composite fare. This will also help both the airlines to attract more passengers.

Recently, Deccan placed an order for 96 new aircraft, which will be delivered over 96 months.

Deccan topples Indian

Deccan today upstaged its nearest competitor and government-owned airline, Indian, to become the second largest airline in the country. The airline has garnered a market share of 21.2 per cent in June, a rise of 1.8 per cent since May 2005, while the that of Indian dipped to 20.8 per cent in June.