IRCTC Air flight booking in 2026: is the ₹100 convenience fee better than MakeMyTrip or EaseMyTrip?
By Diya Verma (Diya Verma flies from Tier-2 Indian cities and chases every possible fare hack — reposition flights, hidden-city ticketing, mileage runs and OTA bundle tricks. She has booked 200+ international trips out of Lucknow, Indore and Jaipur.) · Published · 9 min read
IRCTC Air (the air-ticketing arm of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) charges a convenience fee of around ₹100+GST flat per transaction regardless of the number of passengers — making it one of the lowest-fee booking platforms in India for domestic flights. But that headline number is not the whole story. OTA loyalty cashback, bank card promotions and user experience differences mean IRCTC is not always the winner.
TL;DR — when IRCTC Air wins and when it does not
IRCTC Air's approximately ₹100+GST flat convenience fee (per transaction, not per passenger) is one of the lowest among Indian flight-booking platforms in 2026. On a family booking of 4 passengers, where MakeMyTrip might charge ₹249–₹499 total convenience fee, IRCTC's flat fee is a meaningful saving. However, IRCTC does not offer OTA loyalty points, cashback programmes or bank card promotional discounts — all of which can make MMT, Goibibo or EaseMyTrip cheaper on specific payment combinations. Run the full maths at checkout, not just the headline fee comparison. Verify IRCTC Air's current fee on air.irctc.co.in — it has changed before and may change again.
What is IRCTC Air and how does it work?
Most people think of IRCTC as the train-booking platform (irctc.co.in), which it is. But IRCTC also operates a flight-booking interface at air.irctc.co.in, powered by the same government-entity infrastructure. It is not an airline — it is a booking platform that accesses the same GDS inventory as MakeMyTrip, Goibibo and EaseMyTrip. You book IndiGo, Air India, Akasa Air or SpiceJet flights through it; the actual ticket is issued by the airline and the PNR works exactly the same way.
The platform's UI is functional but not the most polished in 2026. If you are used to MMT's app or EaseMyTrip's clean interface, IRCTC Air feels more government-portal than consumer-app. That said, it works — I have used it several times for straightforward domestic bookings where I wanted to minimise fees and had no OTA promotions to exploit.
One quirk to be aware of: IRCTC Air requires an IRCTC account (the same one you use for train bookings if you have one). If you do not have an account, registration is a minor extra step but straightforward. The platform occasionally has downtime or slowness — frustrating during a flash sale. For peak-demand flash sales, a more reliable OTA platform might be worth the fee premium just for uptime.
The fee comparison: IRCTC Air vs MMT vs Goibibo vs EaseMyTrip
Here is a rough comparison of convenience fees across Indian booking platforms as of mid-2026. These are indicative ranges — fees change frequently, vary by payment method and promotional period. Always check the specific fee at checkout before completing your booking.
| Platform | Typical convenience fee (domestic) | Per booking or per pax? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| IRCTC Air | ~₹100 + GST | Per transaction | Flat fee regardless of pax count; no loyalty programme |
| EaseMyTrip | ₹0–₹249 (varies) | Per transaction | Has historically offered zero-fee on UPI; check current offer |
| Goibibo | ~₹149–₹399 | Per transaction | GoCash+ loyalty credits can offset |
| MakeMyTrip | ~₹249–₹499 | Per transaction | MyWallet cashback; bank card offers active frequently |
| Airline direct | ₹0 | N/A | No fee, but no OTA cashback; occasional airline-only offers |
The IRCTC number looks compelling in a vacuum. But note: EaseMyTrip has sometimes matched or beaten IRCTC's effective price by simply waiving the fee on UPI payments. And the airline's own app/website has zero convenience fee — the tradeoff being no cashback and a less feature-rich booking interface.
When IRCTC Air genuinely wins
IRCTC Air's flat fee structure has the strongest advantage in these situations:
- Group bookings: If you are booking 4–6 passengers in one transaction and neither Goibibo nor MMT has an active bank card offer that makes them cheaper net-of-cashback, IRCTC's flat fee is a straightforward saving versus a per-transaction fee that is higher than ₹100.
- No active OTA promotions: On a day when no bank card offers are active on MMT or Goibibo, and EaseMyTrip is charging a non-zero fee, IRCTC undercuts all three.
- Straightforward domestic bookings: Simple A-to-B ticket with no complex ancillaries, where you do not need the OTA's UI to manage add-ons.
- If you already have the IRCTC account from train bookings: Zero friction — same login, same UPI-linked payment flow you already trust.
When OTA loyalty perks flip the equation
Here is the thing about convenience fees that most fee-comparison articles miss: they are only part of the cost equation. What you earn back also matters.
If you book frequently through Goibibo and have accumulated ₹600 in GoCash+, your effective convenience fee on the next booking is negative — you are getting paid to use Goibibo, in a sense. The GoCash+ has a real redemption value (subject to per-booking caps, which you should verify at goibibo.com). IRCTC Air has no equivalent — no cashback, no loyalty credits.
Similarly, if your bank has an active MMT offer giving ₹500 off with HDFC card and your booking is eligible, MakeMyTrip's ₹399 convenience fee becomes a net -₹101 benefit versus IRCTC's ₹118 charge (₹100 + 18% GST). In that scenario, MMT is cheaper to use despite looking more expensive on the headline fee.
The discipline this requires: check for active bank card offers on MMT and Goibibo before every booking, especially for bookings above ₹10,000 where a flat ₹400–₹750 discount is a non-trivial percentage saving. I keep a note of which banks have active offers on which OTAs — it sounds tedious but after a few months it becomes second nature.
IRCTC Air limitations worth knowing about
Using IRCTC Air for flights is mostly fine, but here are a few genuine limitations:
- No international flight booking (limited): IRCTC Air's primary strength is domestic bookings. International flight inventory and user experience on IRCTC are less developed than the pure-play OTAs. For international flights, stick to MMT, Goibibo, EaseMyTrip or the airline directly.
- Customer service: If something goes wrong — cancellation, rescheduling, PNR issues — IRCTC's customer support for air bookings is a notch below MMT or Goibibo's dedicated travel support teams. This is partly a government-portal design issue and partly capacity. For an uncomplicated one-way domestic journey, the risk is low; for a complex multi-leg itinerary, factor in that recovery support matters.
- Platform reliability: IRCTC's train-booking platform is notorious for slowdowns during Tatkal windows. The air-booking platform is more stable, but during airline flash sales when many people are checking prices simultaneously, I have seen slowness on IRCTC Air too.
- Ancillary management: Adding meals, seat selection or excess baggage through IRCTC Air post-booking can be awkward — it often redirects you to the airline's own site anyway. OTA apps handle this within the app more smoothly.
Bottom line: IRCTC Air is a genuinely good option for a specific use case — a simple domestic booking where no OTA promotional offer makes the other platforms cheaper net-of-fee. It is not a universal winner. The fastest way to settle the question on any specific booking is to check all three platforms (including the airline direct) and compare the checkout total. Use FlightGPT to get a fair-market base fare reference first, then run the fee comparison across platforms.
For more on the OTA comparison question, see our deep dive into MakeMyTrip vs Goibibo pricing differences. And for international bookings where the fare gap is larger, the OTA comparison in our Mumbai to Paris airline guide is relevant context.
Frequently asked questions
What is the IRCTC Air convenience fee in 2026?
IRCTC Air charges approximately ₹100 plus GST (18%) per transaction — making the effective fee around ₹118 per booking regardless of the number of passengers. This is a flat per-transaction charge, not a per-passenger fee. Verify the current amount on air.irctc.co.in before booking as fees can change.
Is IRCTC Air cheaper than MakeMyTrip for flight booking?
On the headline convenience fee alone, yes — IRCTC's ~₹118 (₹100+GST) beats MMT's typical ₹249–₹499 range. But MMT often has bank card offers (₹400–₹750 off) and MyWallet cashback that can make it cheaper net of the fee. Compare the checkout total on both platforms on your specific booking date before concluding which is cheaper.
Can I book international flights on IRCTC Air?
IRCTC Air primarily serves the domestic market. International flight booking is available on IRCTC Air but the inventory and user experience are more limited than dedicated OTAs like MakeMyTrip, EaseMyTrip or Goibibo. For international flights, the pure-play OTAs or airline direct booking are generally better options.
Does booking directly on the airline site save the convenience fee?
Yes — airline websites (IndiGo, Air India, Akasa Air etc.) charge no convenience fee. The trade-off: no OTA loyalty cashback, fewer payment methods on some airline sites, and a less feature-rich experience for managing ancillaries. If you have no active OTA promotional offer, booking direct at zero fee often beats both IRCTC and the OTAs on total cost.
Does IRCTC Air have a loyalty programme or cashback?
No — IRCTC Air does not have a consumer loyalty programme or cashback scheme for flight bookings as of 2026. This is one meaningful limitation versus OTAs like Goibibo (GoCash+) or MMT (MyWallet), where frequent users accumulate real redemption value. If you book frequently, OTA loyalty credits may be worth more than the convenience fee saving on IRCTC.
What payment methods does IRCTC Air accept?
IRCTC Air accepts most common Indian payment methods — UPI, net banking, debit and credit cards. UPI is recommended for lowest friction. The platform does not always have the same range of bank card promotional offers as private OTAs, which is part of why the bank-card-offer comparison with MMT/Goibibo sometimes flips the price in favour of the OTA despite IRCTC's lower base fee.