The most agonizing/horrifying experience of a senior (74) retired american citizen’s nightmare at chennai airport: responsible : british airways(Ba) & air india (Ai)
Myself passenger: viswanatha srinivasan : age: 74
Ba ref: ym9q6p air india ref: ykqt3 travel agent: one travel: booking no. 29301033
Ticket no.[protected]/77
Original booking : dec. 8, 2015: iad/heathrow/chennai (Ar. Dec. 10)
Return: jan 23. Via ai: chennai (9.15 p.M.)/mumbai (Ar. 11.20 p.M.)
Jan. 24: lv. Mumbai 2.30 a.M. Via ba: heathrow/iad
Due to sudden demise of a family member, i had to reschedule my return to feb. 1 from chennai which was done as follow:
Rescheduled return:
Chennai/delh (Via ai 0043) on feb. 1, 2016 dep.At 9/15 p.M., delhi/heathrow (Via ba: feb. 2 – dep. 3.40 a.M.) and then to iad: this was done in chennai thru bpo’s since ba has no presence in chennai. My travel agent confirmed my reschedule and i had sent a written acceptance of rescheduling. They said, ba will send me an itinerary separately.
Ba sent me an itinerary showing above rescheduled changes. Based on which i went to the airport and the central industrial security force( the security staff) allowed me inside the airport. Without a valid document, no one is allowed inside the airport.
(Several incidents occurred between me and the ai staff at check in counter and at their airport office) – which is not relevant at this stge.)
The bottom line: ai says since their (Ai) computer system does not show my name and departure information and hence i will not be allowed to fly to delhi on feb. 1, 2016. Belive me at this time around 10.30 p.M. On feb. 1 when i had only about 6 hrs to go and to take the ba flight to london, there was no flight available for me to go to delhi at chennai airport including domestic airlines had closed down for domestic passengers to delhi.
(I request ba, ai and those concerned officials put themselves in my position to feel the agony and the horrifying experience.)
I pleaded the ai staff to help me out someway where i can at least leave from chennai to london the same day from chennai. The senior staff of air contacted the ba official at midnight in his house to help me out.
You know what the response came: sorry, we do not have an ticket issuing facilities in chennai and they cannot, they cannot do anything and kept the phone down. Ai staff said, sorry sir, you have to make your alternate arrangements and there is nothing that they can do.
Bottom line: i missed the delhi/heathrow/iad flight and lost consequently loss of my money.
I came out of the airport (Now see i cannot enter inside the airport also) and contacted a travel agent, outside the airport, and requested him to get me cheaper fare one way ticket to washington, dc (Iad). The cheapest he quoted me for a one way ticket was rs. 80, 000 and odd (80k and odd). Then i requested him to get a cheaper air ticket for a return ticket to chennai (Chennai/washington/chennai). He gave me a price of rs. 58, 280 for a return ticket and i had no alternative, except this slightly cheaper offer. He booked me by etihad to depart the same day feb. 2 at 4.40 a.M. And i reached washington, dc. At 5.35 p.M.Same day.
Ai staff, were a bit helpful, but told me that this is not the first time it has happened with air india and has happened earlier also. After this experience, i tried to reach my travel agent from chennai airport at[protected], the ring was constantly going but no one picked up the phone to talk to.
Now q: 1. Who is responsible for my mental agony and horrifying experience?
2. Why ba did not communicate with ai about changes, when rescheduling was done 7 days before?
3. My travel agent today’s travel: sent me the revised itinerary and my acceptance also was given.
With 7- day time given why there was no communication between travel agent and ba and ba vs ai.
4. If ba can send me a revised itinerary, then why ai did not get the information?.
5. My loss: i have reached dc and now i have a return to ticket to chennai on may 3, 2016, how do i come back in may or june back to dc. I hav no ticket. This ticket i had rpt, i had to purchase, with no option available to me to reach my home without further financial loss.
Who is going to repair the financial loss, mental agony, horrifying experience of a 74 year old senior american citizen’s loss?????. The financial loss includes:
1. My loss from delhi/london/iad on feb. 2, 2016, because i could not travel.
2. My return airticket by etihad for 58, 200.
3. How do i return to iad again in june or july, if i use that ticket to come to india in may 2016 by etihad?
4. For the mental & physical strain of a 74 year old man?
5. My emotinoal crying between security staff, air india staff and others.
6. I forgot to mention in my earlier this mail that i also paid rs. 20280 for rescheduling charges
I leave this issue to address by british airways to sympathetically look at as a humane mental agony, horrigying experience and emotional loss nd not as a business approach and request to resolve the issue.
Note: british airways website shows chennai office at 10/11 at citi center in mylapore. Believe me, i went there and contacted several and went several floors several times, no such office exists in that prrmises. Finally, a liftman said, ba shifted long back and gave me a small piece of paper with ba bpo number. That is how i was able to request for reschedule my ticket. If they have no such physical presence then why ba chennai office shows the above address??
I will wait for a satisfying response from ba, ai and today’s travel and will decide what and where to plead for resolving my experience.
God bless all.
Air India customer support has been notified about the posted complaint.
Thanks,
Pankaj