There are some other benefits too :

1) You can see the train routes graphically on the India map
2) Mixed mode search (Train + Flight). It can show routes which combine a flight and a train journey. On 90di.com/travel: Just mention the from and to place (without stn/airport codes) with the travel mode as “Train + Flight” and it will show you various options involving flights,trains and both.

Thanks for your comments on my SaaS blog. I also have some experiences to share on the travel space. Feel free to read and comment.

But overall, I find it quite handy over standing for hours in the que.

~Alok

some stats here.

http://www.ileher.com/reviews/story.php?title=Onine-ticket-sales-to-boost-Indian-airline-industry

All said and done, the CS officers seem to be better equipped to handle regular queries and they need someone to train them to offer better service as far as payment related issues are concerned. But then banks in India have customer care centers that leave a lot to be desired, so IRCTC cant be blamed for all evils, can it?

One good thing about the site is definitely the ease of use and the amount of information on offer. It serves its purpose and is a no-frill simple website. It generates huge traffic, so I guess; some issues are only to be expected.

Hope this government-run website stays as is , it’s a good example of how technology can make information (Especially since its government related ,owned, operated) so accessible, usable for a consumer.

MakeMyTrip.Com: Wonderful, seamless experience, Got exactly what I was looking for in the place I was looking for-good usability and definitely good user experience, My only problem with the site: I did have to call Customer Service (CS) and seek clarifications due to failure of finding relevant stuff on the site itself
Moreover, Low Cost Airlines have their own *way* of functioning especially when it comes to cancellations/rescheduling. This is one place Travel agents really do help because they cut through the crap and tell what’s NOT written in the fine print

Yaatra.com: The sites slow and even on IE, its not optimized for the best experience. The keys don’t work on the drop down lists and one has to use the mouse to navigate to anywhere. The sites ultra slow and 3 times in the week, I got a message saying that the services aren’t available. That itself was a red signal to what kind of services would be on offer, especially if the payment gateway decided to play truant and I paid for a ticket twice or the auth failed or something,. Completely turned me off the site

As far as championing a cause is concerned or even backing a user and providing the “lowest cost air tickets”, I don’t find either of the sites friendly or useful enough.

MakeMyTrip won’t feature Air Deccan, assuming their agreements or not in place, hence, as a user I’m deprived of seeing potentially lowest airfare in the segment based on my assumption of the “brand” Air Deccan: the first and the cheapest carrier in India, pioneering the cause when it started out. That is a big downer.

Cleartrip/TravelGuru/Rediff don’t come anywhere close to MakeMyTrip and Yaatra.

IMHO, Indian online consumers don’t have the confidence to buy online and this may just be an assumption, but only the traffic to Customer Service may be the right indicator of the confidence or lack of it, in purchases online.

Am surprised that Ebay didn’t find mention in your post

Was wondering if there are any figures.volumes,statistics available for these sites, not in terms of poularity or number of registered users but the number of tickets booked online etc etc.Oh-then again, maybe for internal user only???