Airlines and travel agents are offering new deals to woo Indian students headed abroad this summer

It’s that time of the year again when airlines woo Indian students flying off to foreign shores. This time though, with high crude prices hurting their bottomline, airlines are relying on freebies like excess baggage allowances to lure students.

Take Jet Airways, which has introduced a promotional package offering excess baggage allowance and frequent flier miles. Under this, students flying to the US, Canada, UK and Europe can check in an additional bag weighing 23kg. Students flying to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok too can carry an additional 10kg.

Passengers on the Jet package, valid till October 31, also get a student kit, which includes a Matrix mobile connection with free talk-time worth Rs 4,000 in the US, UK, Singapore and Australia. Plus, there’s an ICICI Bank travel card, a free Tata Indicom wi-fi roaming card, travel insurance from Bajaj Allianz and a Rs 500 voucher from VIP.

Air-India is offering additional baggage allowance till October 31. Students flying to Frankfurt, Paris, London and Birmingham or elsewhere in Europe via Frankfurt, Paris and London get an additional baggage allowance of 20kg. So they can carry 40kg in all. Students flying Air-India to Australia are allowed 10kg more or 50kg, while those going to the US can check in an extra bag weighing 23kg.

British Airways' offer of 23kg in addition to the normal allowance to London is valid till November 30. Plus, it’s offering free mobile talktime worth 20 pounds in UK or $40 in the US on a Matrix mobile plan.

Virgin has introduced special one-way fares to London. It is offering a Mumbai-London fare of Rs 14,300 plus taxes (around Rs 7,000) too.

A word of caution though: The airlines are offering excess baggage allowance only upto the gateway points. So if a student is flying onwards from say, New Jersey, to a university town, he will have to pay for the additional baggage on the domestic leg.

Travel agencies like Thomas Cook India too are offering packages for students. Thomas Cook’s U Special package includes ticketing, foreign exchange and money transfer, insurance, and even student loans in a tie-up with HDFC Bank. Students get finer rates than the rack rates. Plus they earn reward points each time they buy, say, a ticket or forex, which they can redeem against any Thomas Cook service.

“No other operator offers all these services under one umbrella. We handhold a student from the time he gets admission till he graduates,” says Mahesh Iyer, general manager, foreign exchange, Thomas Cook India.

Thomas Cook has other student deals on too currently. For instance, it’s allowing students to carry a total of 78kg on the London sector ex Mumbai and Delhi, and 110kg to USA and Canada. Then, it has a special airfare from Mumbai to London of Rs 13,000 plus taxes. Airfare discounts are also available for parents, grandparents and siblings accompanying the student. But students must show their university admission documents and student visas to avail of these offers.