Air India Complaints & Reviews

I am a Cenrtal Govt. Employee and I have travelled on LTC from Patna to Mumbai by Air India on LTC-80 Scheme. The detail of my travel is as follow: -

Ticket No. 058 [protected]
PNR No. VXPPFC
Date of Travel 22/12/2009
Patna to Delhi by IC-410
Delhi to Mumbai by IC-863
Total fare paid = Rs. 12,033/-
The ticket is issued by DBA, Air India on 6/11/2009.

Now, our Account Section is willing to re-imburse only Rs. 7,433/-, which is the fare of Patna - Mumbai section as per the List of LTC-80 Fares published on the Air India Web-site with effect from 6th January, 2009 until further notice.

In this regard, I want to know following: -

1. Whether the list of LTC-80 Fares published on Air-India Website is valid and genuine?
2. Whether my booked Ticket is valid or not under LTC-80 scheme?
3. Why there is difference of fares between the list and actuals?
4. If List is valid, why Air India issued this ticket taking more payment?
5. If Ticket is valid, why the wrong List is published on the website?

Copy of Ticket is attached.

Dear Sir

I wish to bring to your notice that I have incurred a loss of nearly Rs 20,000 due to a delay at Air India's end. Please find attached the details:

I deeply reget to inform you that I was inconvenienced due to the delay in your flight IT 613 from Ahmedabad to Mumbai on the 31st of December 2009.

Attached are the details of my flight:
AI631 AHMD - MUMBAI Departure time: 3:05...

hi
the complaint is about AIR INDIA
till today approximately after 1 months my complaint is still pending
nobody from airline has contacted or mailed
i gave my complaint at mumbai airport office (air india duty manager) and twice i have mailed that to their mail id
[protected]@airindia.in
once the mail ID acknowledged and said they will get back but i never recieved any mail from this ID then after
the complaint is as follows, in an application format as i sent to air india names of executives are not given now

Dr Manish Gulia
Kirlampudi Layout Visakhapatnam 53001
The Chief Executive Officer
Air India


Sub: Complaint about Inconvenience caused due to non processing of service request for rescheduling of flight, along with carelessness & misbehaviour of the airlines staff

Respected Sir /madam
I booked a flight of Air India through make my trip .com from Visakhapatnam to Mumbai (IC 618 ON 20TH DEC 09 PNR RKWLUS, E ticket no. [protected]) on 14 Dec 09 along with the above flight I also booked my return flight from Mumbai to Visakhapatnam (IC 617 PNR NO RL6FGP, e ticket no. [protected]) to fly on 25th Dec 09.
My nightmare started when I had to overstay for one day at Mumbai for my job commitment and I called up the call centre no.[protected]. I talked to a lady regarding rescheduling of my flight for the next day, who confirmed that my booking had been postponed for the next day in the same flight( on 26th Dec 09 at 0930 IC 617 From Mumbai TO Visakhapatnam) and I could get a new ticket at the booking counter after paying Rs 500.
I thought of avoiding the last minute panic and went to Air India office at Nariman Point Mumbai to collect my ticket beforehand. To my utter surprise I was treated very rudely and carelessly by the booking counter executives Mrs NAME & Mrs NAME. They told me that there was no change of booking done from me through call centre and moreover according to the staff (their computer system) some Manish Gulia had checked-in on 25 Dec 09, morning at 0855 hrs and seat number 18C was allotted to him. They also informed me that seats for 26 Dec 09 were not available.
I was shocked to hear that and asked the staff to recheck with the system. To this request Mrs NAME who was sitting at the adjacent counter misbehaved and told me that I was wasting their time and since their system is showing something else therefore I was lying. I was asked to find out who had checked in, in my place and they could not do anything for the problem.
I again requested the staff (and told them that I had certainly made a call from my mobile no. [protected] on 23 Dec 09 between[protected]hrs) to recheck from the call centre, their system and with the senior official about the problem. After that the staff reluctantly went inside the control room gesturing as if I was unnecessarily wasting their time and asked me to sit in the waiting lounge.
I was in that office from approx 1400 hrs to 1700 hrs on 25 Dec 09 just sitting and in between pleading the staff to kindly sort out my problem but time and again Mrs NAME (who was putting nail paint while sitting on the duty desk) and the duty manager Mrs NAME behaved as if I was wasting their time and repeatedly said that they had enquired from call centre at Mumbai and Delhi that they never received any such call from my mobile no.
They asked me to leave the place as they could not do anything and advised me to lodge a complaint in written and sort out the issue later but as far as my travelling commitment was concerned they had nothing to do with it. They further said if I had to book a fresh air ticket it was available for Rs 17000 if I could afford it, and I would be lucky, if get a refund of my ticket which I booked for 25th later sometime.
At 1630hrs they said that I should leave as they could not trace any call made from my mobile to any of their call centres, finally somehow it struck to me and I called up my reliance customer care and found out that the call which I made to no.[protected] was made at 1538 hrs on 23 Dec 09 and I talked for 4 min. I also found out that the call centre to which the call was directed is based at Delhi.
It was only after I gave this information to the staff, they went inside control room for 4-5 min and their duty manager Mrs. NAME came out and said that I was correct and their Delhi call centre got a call from my mobile on the given time and date. I fail to understand why the staff at AIR INDIA office couldn’t find out the same from 1400 to 1630 hrs.
After having to sit there for 3 hrs on Christmas and continuously, pleading and requesting the staff to consider my problem little seriously the staff accepted that the mistake was on the part of airline.
Next I was again requesting the staff that my travel to Visakhapatnam on 26 Dec 09 was very urgent due to my personal commitments and since they had found out that the mistake is at airlines part they should arrange something.
To this request the staff answered that their reservation manager Mrs NAME has instructed them that either the customer pays Rs 17000 (approx Rs 9000 extra) to travel on 26th or I can travel in the same IC 617 on 27th morning after paying Rs 500.
The staff failed to understand the problem of a customer
WHY SHOULD THE CUSTOMER WASTE ONE MORE DAY IN MUMBAI as there is no fault on his part all the goo[censored]p is at the part of the airlines (their call centre etc)
ALL MY COMMITMENTS (OFFICIAL AND PERSONAL) OF 26TH GOT DELAYED,,, MORE OVER I HAD TO PAY EXTRA FOR MY STAY AT MUMBAI
THE MENTAL HARRASEMENT I UNDERWENT DUE TO THIS WHOLE EPISODE

My complaints
1. When air India provides services of call centre for postponing/cancelling /rescheduling/booking why in my case they failed to do the same?
2. In spite of me telling the staff again & again about my problem they failed to help me out moreover they misbehaved and talked carelessly not even once thinking what I was going through at that moment.
I would like to file a complaint about the same against following executive at AIR INDIA office at Nariman point, Mumbai
I. NAME(executive) continuously she was misbehaving although she was not the one I was dealing directly she was working on the adjacent desk
II. NAME(duty manager)she did not try to sort out the problem
II. NAME (reservation manager) she did not help me in arranging , somehow my travel even after me telling her staff time and again that how urgent it is for me to travel on 26 Dec 09
(All names have been given by the staff only, as they did not wear any name tags/tally so I had to believe whatever names they have given, but the time of episode is 25 Dec 09 between 1400 to 1700 hrs at Narima point booking office of AIR INDIA)

3. I waited at Air India office at Nariman point FROM 1400 TO 1700 HRS ON 25TH DEC 2009

4. Even after knowing that the mistake is on the part of airline the staff failed to understand my urgency to travel on the same date although seats were available i was not given seat by the reservation manager.

5. Had I not called the customer care from my mobile and Reliance customer care not given me the call details, the air lines wouldn’t have even accepted the mistake. This in turn would have resulted in more financial loss in the form of additional airfare.


6. How can such a big security lapse occur on airport (on part of airline) as someone has checked in as Manish Gulia on 0855 hrs on 25th dec 09 (according to the airlines staff)



And kindly keep me informed about the proceedings in this case i will wait to hear from you

With warm regards


MANISH GULIA

I travelled Air India on 2nd Oct 2008. My flight was scheduled at 8 in the morning.A night before i received a call stating my flight has been rescheduled to 9 o'clock.My flight was from Mumbai to Ranchi.I stay at Pune. I left from Pune at 3 in the morning.While on my way to Mumbai Call centre guys called up and said my flight was at 12 from Delhi.This irritated me.I called back and they said my flight has already taken off from Mumbai.This gave me tremendous stress.On reaching airport I got to know my flight was merged with another flight going to Delhi.There was lot of crowd and ground staff was rude and unruly.I got my boarding pass at 11th hour. We were told that same aircraft will go to Ranchi.Anyway on reaching delhi at 11.30 we were informed that we have to change aircraft which leaves for ranchi at 12.30.We were told our luggage will be automatically transfered. We rushed from arrival to departure section of delhi airport which is a huge one.We had to undergo security check again. No one was there to help or guide us.We were able to reach departure section only at 12.10.We had to change our tickets again which consumed another 10 minutes.We were left to ourselves for security check with no idea whether aircraft will wait for us or not. We were running towards exit at 12.45.Then finally we got into plane which left at 1.30. W reached ranchi at 2.45.On reaching there I found my luggage missing.I got to know it was still at Delhi airport.They sent it in next flight which reached Ranchi at 6 and we had to wait for 3 hours at airport to wait for the luggage.It caused me immense stress.

Hi,

I have booked ticket from Kochi to Mumbai on 06 Nov,2009 for the travel on 01 Jan,2010 from Ezeego.com website.

Details of booking are as below :

Passenger name: Rinku

Flight name : AI 691

Departure time : 2015(from Kochi)

Arrival time : 2200( at Mumbai)

Email id : praveen.[protected]@yahoo.com

Mobile number: [protected]

The time of departure as mentioned on the ticket at the time of booking was 2015 from Kochi.

I was informed by the customer care of air India on 01 Jan,2010 that my flight got delayed by unknown time duration or Flight might get cancelled as well. we should either take refund & take another flight by our self else keep on calling after sometime to just reconfirm the new scheduled time. when we asked them the reason for delay they said nothing . When I asked if they can put me on any other flight it was also not posible for them. I called the customer care continuously after every hour on 01 Jan,2010to confirm the departure scheduled time. This time they told me that the flight will depart at 8-30AM on 2nd Jan 2010.

Also while traveling other way round from Mumbai to Kochi being a domestic travel , when we reached the Mumbai domestic airport and inquired about the flight at air India counter, they told me that this flight will depart from international airport instead of domestic.But while booking the ticket from website , it was no where mentioned in the e ticket that the flight will depart from international airport. So, we had to again travel from domestic to international airport.

We had some meeting at Mumbai which we missed because of this time delay. we had told the air India staff at airport about this but they said that they can’t help us in this.

We had arrange for Hotels by our selfs as it was too much delayed that's next day. also we were still not sure that flight will be scheduled or not. so we again called them up to reconfirm in the morning at 4:00 am they said it is scheduled at 8-30AM only. We reached at airport at 5-30 & again we came to know that flight is delayed again to 10-30 & status was still Delayed. We tried to get in touch with them but there was no good response. Also we asked them that why we were not informed again they said we informed our guests in some XYZ hotel. but we had not been there in that hotel so we were not informed.

Also when we entered the airport there was no one to take care of the passengers of flight AI 691 at

airport and there was no announcement from Air India for this flight other than a LCD screen showing the departure of flight AI691 at 1030 and status being as delayed together with other flight timings. So finally, having in mind that my flight will depart at 1030 when we went to Air India counter done the checking & security checks. later time was 10 still there was no message.

We tried to reach them but no response no announcements & no update on the schedule on the LCDs.

I had to go through a mental trauma for the whole day because of this delay and it was like a worst nightmare i ever faced I need a appropriate compensation for this delay on part of Air India as soon as possible.

Please take this incidence as a high priority and act.

Thanks & regards,
Rinku Parekh

Sir,
Iam a central Govt emloyee and I availed LTC to North east India( as per LTC -80 scheme) After tour I submitted my claims and my office admitted only fare as per the list available with the office (dated 6th January ,2009).After this date Air india revised the fare several times and there is was no consolidated list available in Air india site or any other site.Most of the govt department keeping the old list and admitting only the fare as per the old list.There was a huge difference between fare old list and actual fare .Kindly help to get a revised list of fare or any consolidate revised list of Air india (LTC -80 fare )
Please help
Dr.V.K.Rahmathulla
Scientist CSB ,Bangalore

Air India...the more you think about it...the more you hate it ! What else can I say ? I am a student in the University of Kansas. I was coming back to India for the Christmas break after a wonderful first semester...and little did I know that this "sweet" trip would unravel one of my worst nightmares....

I boarded AI 102 from NY and was on my way to Calcutta...I chose 17K as my seat number for this flight months ago...When I was handed my boarding pass...my preferred seat was changed to 9C...but that was not the end of the story...when I boarded the flight, I began to unwind...I took out a book to read, set my cabin luggage aside and started to listen to my i-Pod. However, my relaxation was short-lived as a couple arrived there to claim that 9C was allotted to one of them...after a confusion of 15 minutes or so, I was re-directed to a new seat 24 B...By that time, there were not any empty slots left near 24 B for me to put my cabin baggage...Moreover, since I am a tall and strongly built person, I always prefer side seats...To my utter displeasure, I was stuck in a middle seat for the next 14 hrs of my journey with my cabin luggage nowhere in my near sight...THANKS TO AIR INDIA...

Now, I had to change my aircraft at New Delhi before I were to arrive in Calcutta...so I did. After reaching Calcutta, I found out that one of my checked-in baggages were missing...I had to stand in a queue for more than 1.5 hrs...just to register the complaint...

The luggage arrived 2 days later and my uncle collected it on behalf of me...Within the next 30 hrs, I had the baggage in front of me...To my horror, the baggage was unlocked...I USED THE SAMSONITE TSE LOCK ....AND THERE WAS THE TSE TAG ON MY BAGGAGE when I boarded the Delta flight ....

When I got the baggage,the status of the baggage was indicated as : UNLOCKED ! It was disgusting.... But, it was even more disgusting to know the surprise I had in the store for me when I opened my baggage...

I had a Seagate External Hard Disk in this baggage...I realized that it was no more...This hard disk contained various financial, academic and personal data of mine...I work as a student researcher in KU...and the bulk of the data of my research work was on this hard disk...The photocopies of my passport and visa were also there on the hard disk...then, there were some personal pictures of me and my family...Can I sleep in peace anymore ?? If these data fall into some wrong hands...I don't really know what would happen to me...If someone misuses my passport information...if someone tries to tamper with my financial information....I don't know what is going to happen !

However, the sad part is...I can not decide if I was wrong in keeping that hard disk in the checked-in baggage thinking that it was secured by the TSE lock...or if I was wrong to afford the services of Air India to travel to India...Maybe, I over-estimated the honesty, courtesy and customer friendliness that Air India vows to abide by !

Air India...you suck ! It is high time, that this worthless company ( I wonder if its fit enough to be called as a company anymore) should banish itself...What are you going to do next, AI ??...Pay me some hundred rupees for my loss , huh ? Do you think that the info. that I have lost can be replenished with money ? What if some terrorist misuse my info. to organize another 26/11 ? I ASK : WHERE IS YOUR PLEDGE TO SECURITY ? IT HAS HAPPENED SO MANY TIMES....BUT WHAT DO YOU DO ?? Just throw out money on our face with a pathetic voice of apology !

Right now, I should be celebrating the conclusion of my first semester at KU with my family ! But, look...I am here, writing this piece of junk against a bigger junk : Air India...I don't know anything for sure now...but all I know is that I would never board an Air India flight again in the future... I have learnt my lesson...but, I guess, Air India has not !

Baggage Number : DL242878
Flight Number :AI102

Abhishek

Please refer to my complaint vide file no. DELAI27869/19DEC09/1845GMT. I alongwith my wife and daughter came by AI 120 FLIGHT from (Brussels by Brussels Airlines) via Frankfurt by AI 120 on 19th Dec09. I did not recieve my three checked in baggages. Despite filing the complaint at Airport, I have not received any response from you. Even after calling your office I was told that the Frankfurt office did not send any reply about the status. of my baggages. I have come on home leave for 3 weeks only. I have to go to my home town i.e. Lucknow, but I have been stuck here in Delhi for last two days without any information. First I have to travel to Kanpur where I will stay there for 5 days and I have booked my Rail ticket also for 22nd Dec 09. Now we don't have any clothing with us and all necessary items there in checked in baggage only. I had have to buy almost everything for daily use. And my stay is also causing too much financial loss. In any case I have to move to Kanpur on 22nd Dec 09 and my address there will be 447/5, SHASTRI NAGAR, KANPUR-05 (PH. [protected]).
I will fly back to Brussels on 10th January 2010 for which I have already my confirmed tickets. I am sending you the scanned copy of the tickets.
It is therefore requested that first we should be compensated with the delayed delivery of baggage leading to my halt at Delhi. Please ensure to deliver the baggage at my Kanpur address given above till 27th Dec 09 and after that at my Lucknow addres which is mentioned in the complaint form vide no. 27869. I want the compensation by tomorrow for the unnecessary torture we are suffering.
Hope to receive response quickly. My email id is bk.[protected]@yahoo.com


B.K.Srivastava
[protected]

I was travelling from Kolkata to New York JFK via Delhi in Air India on 7th Dec 2009.My luggage was checked in till JFK in Kolkata.But on arriving at JFK I found my luggage did not arrive.This happened with most of the passengers who boarded from kolkata.Then I logged a lost luggage complaint at JFK on 8th Dec morning NY time with refernece number JFKAI17321/08DEC0971207GMT.I gave the address and the contact person name of my stay in Bogota,Colombia where I have to stay for some months.

Also I have called up the JFK airport several times without any affect. I have even dropped a mail to [protected]@airindiausa.com whose email id I found from the complaint centre.But even after repeated mails no one bothered to call me or reply to my mails.

I am at a complete mess. Above all I do not have sufficient dress and other essentials including regular medicines which I brought along with me in my luggage.I am spending extra money to buy essential clothings and other goods.Soon I will be short of money too beacuse of this.

This is a horrible experience and harrassment I am going through and I really do not know where to get help. I really want to know what is the procedure to take legal actions against the company and its service .

I made an internet E-TICKET in Air India website bearing PNR number JFT5J from Delhi to Mumbai. When I approached the check -in desk the airline staff indicated that my PNR is cancelled and issued to kolkata. I was surprised and rather showed them my booking detials. Still I could not fly to Mumbai.

I want a compensation towards this as the Air line never approached me to help me out even after sweetly charging me for the ticket. I want a suitable compensation for the loss of business and time and also the harrassment.

I travelled from Phoenix to Chennai with my wife in Air India AI126 on Dec 5th. I checked in 5 baggages at the Phoenix Sky Harbour Intl Airport. I paid penalty of $350.00 for 1 extra baggage and extra weight in 1 baggage.

When I reached the chennai airport, none of the 5 bags were delivered to me. I gave a complaint and opted to come and collect it in the airport as soon as the bags are available. I collected 3 bags, 1 bag and 1 bag on 08/12, 09/12 and 11/12 respectively.

When I opened the bags in my home I found out that many items are missing. Some body has opened all my bags and selectively stolen many valuable items. Around 20 items are missing and their combined worth crosses to $1000.00 .

This has caused so much of metal stress and also monetary loss. Some of the items cannot be bought here and they are priceless gifts.

Despite collecting a fine of 350 dollars my baggages were not handled properly. Shame on Air India for employing crooked people who makes second income by stealing their own customers property.

Imagine one person running around numerous stores in US and buying gift items for their loved ones and another person sitting under the safe cover called Air India and selectively stealing all those items as per his wish. Air India has policies which are more robber friendly than customer friendly. This is how it works in Air India

They pay compensation on a weight basis. For example : 1 Kg of goods lost = 500 Rs/

Valuable items that I lost like the Ipod, Watches, PS3 Games don't weigh much. At Air India, Apples are not compare with Apples.

They have their own rules which only help the cause of robbery and increases suffering to the passangers. AI theifs are so smart to steal only the watch and leave the hard case as it is. This means less wieght loss and AI is happy to pay less compensation. This is how AI is breeding a group of white collar robbers.

Below is list of items that were stolen from me. Value in US Dollars is given next to each item :

Brookstone Rolling clock (2) - 30
Brookstone Time projecting clock - 35
Fossil Watch - 103
Citizen Watch - 65
PS3 Games (5) - 5 * 40 = 200
Armani Cent (2) - 120
Sport French cent - 65
Playboy Cent - 30
Ipod Nano 16 Gb Black - 190
Sony Mp3 Player - 35
Cannon Camera - 130
Nursery Rhyme CDs - 20

Total Value is - $1,023

Name : Samuel Anand Prince / Prabakar Joseph
File Reference : MAAAI37156/07DEC09/0505GMT
Flight Date : UA656/05DEC/AI126/05DEC/AI640/07DEC
Bag Tags : UA650126 UA650127 UA648946 UA648947 UA648948

Air India should be banned from operating Intl flights as they don't have Intl standard and spoil the country's image.

Dear Sir,

3 Tickets were booked to buy Air India Tickets on 02nd Dec 09 using my Credit Card number [protected] with Exp date 03/12 Fraudulantly.

Below are the details

[protected]DEC[protected]DEC-09 AIR INDIA 4,655.00
[protected]DEC[protected]DEC-09 AIR INDIA 4,655.00
[protected]DEC[protected]DEC-09 AIR INDIA 5,580.00

I learnt of these fraudulant use when I received alerts on my mobile phone from My Bank (Andhra Bank). Post this, I made several attempts in vain to contact Air India over the phone to report of this misuse. I dialed on the Air India customer care numbers collected from Just Dial[protected]. However, I was unable to contact anyone at Air India as none of the calls were answered.
I have reported of the misuse with my Bank & got my card hot listed. I have also raised an FIR with the police to nab the fraudster. I request you to kindly look into this matter and help me in disputing these transactions that have been made using my credit card details.

Do let me know if you require any other information that might help you in your investigation in nabbing the fraudster.

Hope Air Lines would adopt better checks to avoid misuse.

Thanks & regards
Srikanth Rao Panyam Vuppu

I booked packing and Moving of my House Hold goods from Kolkata to Cuttack via this Air India Movers and Packers operating at Kolkata (Mr Vikas Kumar, cell:[protected]) on 7th Dec 2009. While transfering I opted for 3% comprehensive insurance of my goods and an amount of INR 3870 was paid to him for the National Insurance policy which he was supposed to get it done that very day.But he ran away with the money without any insurance policy. On telling him that I would go for a police complaint, he switched off his cell phone avoiding any further contacts.

Having Issued Boarding passes for IC146 & IC605 -- Rajkot - Mumbai, Mumbai - Delhi on 14th Nov. 2009 to Four passenger as connecting flights. The flight IC146 landed at 21.05 but the IC staff wrongly informed us that the connecting flight IC605 to Delhi is already left and contact duty manager at the Airport.
The IC605 for Delhi was not actually left at 21.00 hours, it left at least 40 minutes after the scheduled time.
The IC staff could had easily transferred us to IC605, but reluctantly they pushed us into a mess just to avoid a little effort at their part.
And then They connected us to Jet Konnect flight which finally left Mumbai at 12.20 in night giving a 3.20 hours nightmare at the Mumbai Airport.
No Food being provided by the IC staff as there was no food available in the Jet Konnect Flight.
My Driver had to wait at the Delhi Airport for at least 4 hours in the chilling night.
It became a full fledged mess created solely by the IC staff
I just could not understand if YOU cannot connect to the passengers to the connecting flights why YOU CALL THE FLIGHTS AS CONNECTING FLIGHTS AND WHY YOU ISSUE A CONNECTING BOARDING PASS.,..........
THEY DO NOT HAVE ANY ANSWER TO THIS MESS AND TORTURE BEING FORCEFULLY GIVEN BY AIR INDIA.
We want a strict action be taken against the staff involed creating this Mess in addtion to the compensation to the suffered passenger in the ways and means the Air India thinks fit.

Hello

I had booked a Air India IC return ticket from Mumbai - Bangalore - Male in Sept 2009 on cleartrip.com.
On our way back when we were about to board Banglore - Mumbai IC flight on 26th Sept 2009, we were told Flight is canceled due to the strike and we were not given any options and hence we booked on GoAir and IC counter gave us an endorsement and told us we should show this to Cleartrip and they are responsible to refund our money.

Its been almost 2 months and Cleartrip says as its Partial cancellation, they need a go ahead from Air India and the Amount to be refunded and after several mails to Air India Refund team by Cleartrip, has not responded with a Go ahead.

Please advice how do I go about it.

Hello Sir,

My name is Komakula Sridher. I had cancelled my ticket on 11/05/2009 and got notified to submit my Ticket and a copy of my Passport. As per the notification I submitted the requested documents at the Air India office (Saifabad, HACA Bhavan, Hyderabad). Could you please verify my details below and issue the refund amount. Please let me know if you need any additional information.

Name : Komakula Sridher
Father's Name : K Rajashekaram
Passport Number : F3614098
ETKT : AI 098 [protected]
RESERVATION NUMBER(S) : AI/J7KL2
Home Address : H.No: 4-2-382
Kothur Street,
Hamankonda,
Warangal 506001
Andhra Pradesh.

Thanks,
Sridher

My family of 4 (self, wife and my parents) decided to travel the Trivandrum-Mumbai sector on 28th October 2009 owing to it's convenient timing. As the aircraft was readying to taxi off, the Airhostess announced that the flight will land at Kochi. What was a non-stop 2 hour flight became an arduous 5 hour flight with horrendous service. All the lights in the cabin along with the airconditioning would switch off when the engines were being started. The In Flight Entertainment System was not functional, and consequently, the Attendant call switch was not functional. If the hardship faced during flight was not sufficient, the slamdown at Mumbai brought down one of the overhead service panels (picture attached).

The confusion did not end there, It took almost 15 minutes for doors to be opened. Bypassing immigration for domestic passengers took ages as there was only one person manning the counter (and no order). Baggage claim was no better with baggage being on different belts to what was shown on the display.

Had I been informed about the change of flight details before boarding, i would have claimed a refund and opted for another flight. Why Should I pay Air India for service not rendered?

PNR: Visakhaptanam – Chennai (IC 7601): RK6Z6H
PNR: Chennai – Abu Dhabi (IX 613): IX05385189
Name of passenger: Sharad Rai

I am writing this in the hope that customer care by Air India will be taken more seriously and that hapless passengers are not made a scapegoat, especially when the passenger is not responsible for the situation. Due to the callousness of the airline manager in Visakhapatnam and his false assurance, I went through a horrible experience during my recent return flight to Abu Dhabi. (Detail account below).

However, I would like to state that, when an airline sells its ticket to a passenger, then it should also take responsibility when it fails to fulfill its duty (Delays/Non-Operation etc) and not cause further harassment to the passenger. I am aware that Air India Express is the low budget Flight operating to the Middle East, but it is still a subsidiary of Air India and I found it strange that instead of trying to get me to my destination, the manager in Chennai had to point this out to me and offer options that were neither feasible nor realistic in my situation.

The delay and subsequent cancellation of the domestic flight was due to the airline not being in position to operate its flight, which resulted in me missing my connecting flight. (This was the third consecutive day where Air India was having a problem with their flight from Visakhapatnam to Chennai. On 15th the flight was cancelled, on 16th the flight took off at 1030hrs and after flying for 25 mins had to land back to Visakhapatnam due engine problem and again took off at 1630hrs). Hence, I expected them to help me out with my situation and not aggravate the problem further and mete such treatment for no fault of mine.

The mental trauma, the loss of time and sleep and the anguish that I faced cannot be compensated in any form or kind, but as a good gesture to your customer for the inconvenience faced, it will be highly appreciated, if you could at least compensate the cost for the transport from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.

DETAILED ACCOUNT

Return Flight booked as follows:

17.10.09: VTZ (Visakhapatnam) to MAA (Chennai) with IC 7601 departure 0830 hrs
Ticket No:[protected]Scanned copy attached)

17.10.09 MAA to AUH (Abu Dhabi) with XI 613 departure 1250 hrs
Ticket No: IX[protected]Scanned copy attached)

0700 hrs: After checking in for the flight to Chennai, we were informed that flight IC 7601 to Chennai was delayed and was rescheduled for departure at 0915 hrs.

0930 hrs: Boarding finally started and then while the aircraft was still in the runway, the pilot made an announcement that there was a snag in the engine and that all passengers have to disembark. At this point we were informed that the flight would be ready within half an hour. However, this did not happen.

1000 hrs: Passengers were informed (pacified) with the information that they would be put in another flight, which was arriving from Delhi at 1325 hrs.

Since my onward flight to Abu Dhabi from Chennai was at 1250 hrs and on hearing that the next flight departing VTZ was due at 1325 hrs, I immediately went and approached the Manager on duty and requested for assistance. I was assured by the Manager that an alternate arrangement would be made and that he would inform Air India in Chennai and noted my onward flight details. Before leaving Vizag, the Manager again told me that he has informed the Air India Manager in Chennai and that I should meet him after landing there. I requested him for a copy of the communication regarding the information passed to his colleague in Chennai, so that I could show them on arrival, but he told me that he had passed the message verbally(by telephone) and I need not worry.

1450 hrs: Landed in Chennai and I straight away went and approached the Air India Manager on Duty (Mrs. Preeti.), she told me that she had not received an information from Visakhapatnam and that I should go and meet the Air India Express Manager as it was an international flight that I had missed.

So I went and met the duty manager of Air India Express (Mr. Natarajan), who told me that he cannot do anything as the delay was due to domestic flight and I should approach them. I again approached Mrs. Preeti and asked for assistance, as I did not know, who else to approach. She called Mr. Natarajan, who told her that he cannot issue a ticket for another flight as the ticket which I had bought was of a low budget carrier and that I had two options, either wait for the next Air India Express flight which was on Tuesday or buy a new return ticket from Chennai to Abu Dhabi. Both options were not acceptable to me, as I had to join duty on 18th Oct and I did not have sufficient money to buy a new ticket and since I was stranded in a strange city, where I did not have any one to ask for assistance, I was not in position to accept either of the options. After this Mrs Preeti contacted some higher officials and also made some calls to various officers on duty etc, the Air India Express Manager finally agreed to accommodate me in the Indian Airline flight IC 905 to Dubai which was departing at 2000 hrs. Since I did not have any other option, I agreed to take this flight (Ticket attached).

2000 hrs: Boarded IC Flight to Dubai, which landed at 1045hrs (UAE time) and from there I had to take a Taxi to Abu Dhabi, which is about 2 hours drive. I reached my residence at 0100 hrs (local Time) and paid 295 Dirhams (approximately Rs.3900).

Last night (technically, this morning) I had to send a package by cargo to Hyderabad from Chennai. I went to Chennai's Air India Cargo Division with a couple of my friends at about 1.30am. First of all, I had trouble finding the cargo office inside the Airport premises as there are no sign boards of any sort. This is NOT the complaint. India being my 'motherland', I have gotten used to asking passers-by for directions and not rely on signboards and addresses. It took about half an hour to find the place, but that's OK. As I said, I have gotten used to this.

So I found the place at about 2am. There were people waiting outside the cargo office but I couldn't find a way in. Then I was told that the office is closed. I was obviously shocked because Air India Cargo is supposed to work 24/7 and also it was really important for me to send the package. I went the window and found people sleeping inside with the AC on. I started banging on the window to wake them up and a man in his early 40s opened the door. When I asked him why they aren't working, he actually said, "Don't we people need food and rest? Come after 4am. Don't disturb till then".

The people waiting outside were probably too kind to disturb the officers who were 'resting' or may be they have gotten 'used' to the idea. But I haven't and I don't want to. I don't know how this blog/ forum works, who checks these posts and takes action. I actually don't care about taking action because I know everyone will eventually get used to everything. But here is my piece of advice: When you're in a hurry to send a cargo late in the night, DO NOT GO TO AIR INDIA CARGO.

End of the story - I sent my package through Jet Cargo spending an extra 100 rupees, which means a lot to me.

I seriously think that so called wife and ex husband are one and the same.No ex wife is so much bothered about her ex and she has no right to do what she is doing after the brake up.I think these people are going out of their way to distroy Emanuelle and her career and they should not be allowed to succeed in their ulterear motive.They have no business to keep posting the same links again and again so meny taimes, It is very clear that they are after her life.The moderaters or the admin should remove the links immediately and ban them from posting again.Legal action must be taken against these people so that they do not do such things in future.They should also be held responsible for all the repercussions for doing such a thing.Thnnks.