MakeMyTrip vs EaseMyTrip vs ixigo for Family Flight Booking 2026

Comparing MakeMyTrip, EaseMyTrip and ixigo for family flight bookings — seat-map visibility, infant add-on flow, refund speed, and coupon stacking on child

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MakeMyTrip vs EaseMyTrip vs ixigo for family flight bookings in India (2026)

By Priya Nair (Priya Nair covers India's beach destinations — Andaman, Lakshadweep, Goa, Kerala — with a focus on the practical bits: which gateway airport, which ferry connects to which island, the permits, the scuba seasons, the budget math.) · Published · 11 min read

Family flight bookings on Indian OTAs have a specific set of friction points: can you see the seat map and pick adjacent seats without being charged extra? How painful is adding a lap infant? If you cancel, how long does the refund actually take? This shootout covers MakeMyTrip, EaseMyTrip and ixigo across exactly those pain points.

TL;DR — which OTA wins for Indian family flight bookings?

For most families, MakeMyTrip edges ahead on seat-map visibility and infant add-on flow, but EaseMyTrip frequently has better net prices on the same IndiGo or Air India fares, and ixigo is the fastest for price comparison across dates. None of the three is perfect. The honest answer is: use FlightGPT or ixigo to find the cheapest fare, then book directly on the airline's own site if the seat-map and infant-add-on experience matters more than OTA cashback. Below is the breakdown by pain point.

Seat-map visibility: can you actually pick seats for the family before paying?

This is the one that matters most with kids. Nobody wants to discover at check-in that a six-year-old is in row 14 while the parents are in row 28.

MakeMyTrip shows an interactive seat map within the booking flow for IndiGo, Air India and Akasa Air on most routes. You can see which seats are free, which are chargeable, and pick them before final payment. The experience is cleaner on desktop than on the app. Occasionally the seat map fails to load for some SpiceJet flights — a known glitch. If you do not see a seat map, proceed to book and select seats directly on the airline's website post-booking using the PNR.

EaseMyTrip also shows a seat map but the interface is more cluttered. It works, but you sometimes have to scroll past upsell prompts to find the free seats. The seat map coverage is similar to MakeMyTrip's. A quirk: EaseMyTrip sometimes bundles 'seat + meal' in a way that makes it unclear whether you are paying for the seat or the meal. Read the line items carefully before confirming.

ixigo is primarily a price comparison and booking engine — their seat selection experience is more limited. On IndiGo bookings via ixigo, you are often taken through to IndiGo's own seat map post-booking. This is actually fine, but if you want to see and select seats in one flow, ixigo is the weakest of the three.

Verdict: MakeMyTrip > EaseMyTrip > ixigo for seat map visibility in the booking flow.

Adding a lap infant: which OTA makes it least painful?

Adding an infant (under 2, lap infant) to an Indian OTA booking is, frankly, a mess on all three platforms. Here is the state of play as of 2026:

MakeMyTrip has a dedicated passenger type for 'Infant' in the passenger count selector. The infant fare (typically around 10–15% of the adult base fare, varying by airline) is added cleanly to the booking total. The flow asks for the infant's date of birth to verify they qualify. However, if you need to change the infant's details post-booking (common if you book months out and realise you entered the wrong date of birth), reaching customer support is time-consuming.

EaseMyTrip also handles infants in the initial passenger selection. The process is similar to MMT. One advantage: EaseMyTrip's customer support chat has historically been faster to respond for booking modifications — useful if you need to correct an infant's name or date of birth before travel.

ixigo allows infant booking but the flow varies by airline — on some routes it redirects you to the airline's site to add the infant separately, which can cause confusion about whether the infant is actually on the PNR. If you book via ixigo with an infant, call or email the airline after booking to confirm the infant is properly on the reservation.

Verdict: MakeMyTrip and EaseMyTrip are roughly equal for infants; ixigo has more post-booking friction.

Refund speed: when a family cancellation happens, who pays back fastest?

Family plans change — illness, exam schedules, school closures. Here is the realistic timeline for refunds on OTA-booked tickets as of 2026:

MakeMyTrip: For refundable fares (IndiGo Flexi, Air India's higher fare classes), MakeMyTrip typically processes refunds to the original payment method in 7–10 business days. They have a 'My Trips' cancellation flow that is self-service for straightforward cancellations. Complications arise when the cancelled flight involves a codeshare or when the airline fare rules differ from what MMT showed at booking — in those cases you may be chasing customer support for 2–4 weeks.

EaseMyTrip: Has consistently been cited by travellers as faster on refunds — often 5–7 business days for straightforward cases. They also have a more aggressive 'zero-cancellation fee' promotional product that waives their OTA cancellation handling fee (not the airline's fee, which is set by the airline's fare rules). Worth reading the fine print on what 'zero cancellation' covers.

ixigo: Refund timelines are more variable. Their model integrates with airline APIs and GDS systems, and when there is a discrepancy, the refund can sit in limbo. Anecdotally, ixigo's refund tracking in the app is clearer than it used to be, but for a large family booking where the refund amounts are significant, the other two OTAs tend to have better-established resolution paths.

Verdict: EaseMyTrip > MakeMyTrip > ixigo for refund speed. For any significant cancellation, DGCA's passenger rights circular requires the airline (and by extension the OTA) to process refunds within 7 working days of the cancellation — you can cite this if an OTA drags its feet.

Coupon stacking on child tickets: can you actually save more?

OTAs run bank card offers, wallet cashback, and their own promotional coupons. For family bookings the question is: do child-fare tickets qualify for the same coupons as adult tickets?

Short answer: usually yes, but with caveats. Most OTA coupons and bank card offers apply to the total booking value — so a 10% cashback coupon would apply to the sum of adult and child fares in the booking. However, some bank-specific offers (particularly HDFC, ICICI and SBI credit card promotions) have a minimum transaction value and a maximum cashback cap. On a four-ticket family booking, you are more likely to hit the minimum transaction threshold and thus qualify for the offer — but you will also hit the cap sooner.

MakeMyTrip's Super Saver wallet accumulates cashback that can be applied to future bookings. For families who book frequently (annual holidays plus grandparents visits), building up this wallet can amount to a few thousand rupees of real saving over a year.

EaseMyTrip's EMT Black membership gives a flat cashback rate on all bookings, including child fares. For a family that travels 3–4 times a year, the membership fee can pay back in saved OTA service fees fairly quickly.

ixigo tends to offer promotional pricing rather than systematic cashback — flash sale fares that are only visible and bookable on ixigo. These are worth checking for, but they are unpredictable and not stackable with other coupons.

Verdict: for systematic savings across multiple family trips, EaseMyTrip's flat cashback structure is often better than MakeMyTrip's wallet system. But run the numbers for your specific bank card and travel frequency.

When to skip the OTAs and book directly on the airline site

There are situations where booking direct just makes more sense for families:

One practical middle path: use FlightGPT to find the best fare and dates, then book on the airline's site directly. You get price transparency across options without losing the directness of the airline booking for seat management and refunds. See also our guide to IndiGo's family fare and IndiGo senior citizen discount for more on specific fare types that are easier to access on the airline's own platform.

Bottom line

MakeMyTrip has the best seat-map experience in the booking flow. EaseMyTrip tends to have competitive prices and faster refunds. ixigo is the better price-discovery tool but the weaker end-to-end booking platform for families. None of them beats booking directly on the airline for post-booking control. For most Indian families, the optimal approach is: compare on FlightGPT or ixigo, check EaseMyTrip for any active cashback offer, then either book direct on IndiGo/Air India or on MMT if the seat-map visibility is worth the (usually small) OTA service fee premium.

Frequently asked questions

Which OTA gives the cheapest flight prices for family bookings in India?

There is no permanent winner — prices are dynamic and OTAs run different offers at different times. EaseMyTrip has historically been slightly more aggressive on price for IndiGo bookings. Run the same search on MakeMyTrip, EaseMyTrip, ixigo and the airline's own site before committing. FlightGPT (flightgpt.in) aggregates across sources so you can spot the gap quickly.

Does MakeMyTrip charge extra for booking an infant?

MakeMyTrip charges the airline's infant fare (typically around 10–15% of the adult base fare for IndiGo domestic flights, higher for Air India and international routes) plus its own OTA service fee. There is no separate MakeMyTrip infant surcharge beyond what the airline itself charges. Verify the total in the booking summary before paying.

How long does EaseMyTrip take to refund a cancelled family flight?

EaseMyTrip typically processes straightforward refundable-fare cancellations in 5–7 business days to the original payment method. Non-refundable or partially-refundable fares depend on the airline's cancellation policy. DGCA rules require refunds to be processed within 7 working days — if EaseMyTrip or any OTA exceeds this for a refundable cancellation, you can raise a complaint on the AirSewa portal (airsewa.gov.in).

Can I use an HDFC or SBI credit card offer when booking for 4 family members on an OTA?

Yes — bank card EMI and cashback offers apply to the full booking value, which for a family of four is a larger transaction and more likely to meet the minimum spend threshold. However, most bank offers also cap the cashback at ₹1,500–₹3,000 per transaction. Check the offer's terms and conditions for both the minimum transaction value and the per-transaction cap before banking on the saving.

What if ixigo shows a much cheaper fare that MakeMyTrip and EaseMyTrip do not match?

ixigo occasionally surfaces very low fares from its airline API feeds that briefly appear before inventory closes. If you see a significantly cheaper price on ixigo (more than ₹200–₹300 per ticket cheaper for the same flight and fare class), book it quickly — these fares do not last. Alternatively, check the airline's own site immediately to see if the same fare class is available direct.

Is it safer to book on OTAs or directly with the airline for a large family group?

For groups of 4–9, booking directly on the airline's site gives you better control over seat selection, easier post-booking modifications, and a cleaner refund path. OTAs are useful for price comparison and when their cashback/offer makes a material difference. For groups of 10+, contact the airline's group booking desk directly — OTAs are not the right channel for that.