Air India — flight

This will soon be posted all over the internet!
air india are the worst airline I have experienced in my life. I have flown to over 20 countries with about the same number of airlines. air india are a complete joke...but not a funny one because the joke is on the customer. I have never experienced such incompetence or unprofessional behaviour with any other company in any other consumer transaction anywhere in the world.
I am now back in the UK. Reimburse me immediately !

I booked my ticket in the UK with Southall travel.
2 days before my outbound flight to Delhi I telephoned Air India to reserve my seats. I was told that I now had reserved window seats on every one of my flights and there was no need to check in online. It was all done. I arrived at Heathrow and took my pre booked window seat to Delhi.
On 14th April arrived at Delhi international airport at 09:50 in the morning to fly to Kathmandu. The flight was due to leave at 12:50. 3 hours later. I queued with my luggage for almost 2 hours.
When I got to the check in desk I was told that Air India had over booked the flight so I would not be able to fly that day and would have to fly the following day. I protested and said that this would not do. I had made several arrangements with 5 other people, I had a Jeep booked to collect me at the airport, deliver important things at Boudhanath where I would meet with others, then go on to pick up another passenger and finally transport us to Namobuddha which is a 3 hour drive. I spoke to several members of staff and two managers. I was pushed from pillar to post. I demanded that Air India put me on the next available flight with whichever carrier they could. I was repeatedly told that this would not be possible as the only other flight to leave that day was a Nepal Airlines flight which was already full. I persisted. Finally they called Nepal Airlines  who agreed to put me on the flight if there was a cancellation and the 2 airlines would sort out everything between themselves.
While I was waiting I questioned the Air India representative Mr. Suraj Kumar
about how his company could make such a mistake, he informed me that it happens quite regularly and that every week at least one or two passengers do not get their seats due to Air India over booking their flights.
He said that confirming seats for my future Air India flights by telephone was not a guarantee that I would get the seat because priority would be given to people who book their seats online and if I ever was to confirm my seat by telephone then Air India's policy is to advise customers to arrive at the airport to check in at least 4 hours prior to departure. The agent in the UK said nothing about this when I confirmed my seats with him.
A seat came up with Nepal Airlines at around 14:35. I was told to hurry forward. I did so do with the Air India representative towards the Nepal Airlines check in desks. However when we got there the Air India Representive informed me that I would be liable for the excess baggage as Nepal Airlines allow only 20 kilos of luggage whereas my luggage allowance with Air India is 46 kilos. I refused to pay. It was not my fault that Air India over booked their flight so why should I, the passenger be penalised for their utter incompetence.
My Kumar spoke to his manager, invited me to speak to the manager and I did so. I informed the manager that I was less than happy with how I had been treated and if Air India did not pay the excess baggage then I would take legal action against them. He made a call and got one of his seniors to agree that Air India should pay for the excess baggage. So we went back to the Nepal Airlines desk and I proceeded to check in. Everything was done as fast as possible because the flight was due to leave very soon (15:55)
Then after I had been processed I proceeded to passport control. Just as my passport was about to be stamped Mr. Suraj Kumar came running up saying that there was a problem with the excess baggage and Air India was not going to pay the fee after all. So I had to trundle back to the Nepal Airlines desk and pay them 3, 360 rupees before I could board the flight. I then had to go through passport control again and run through the airport in fear of missing the flight.
At the end of the whole scenario I repeated to Mr. Suraj Kumar that I would do my utmost to take legal action against Air India. He was not happy about this at all and protested by saying "look, I have personally gone out of my way to try to help you and it is now over 30 minutes beyond the time that my shift should have ended. I have been back and forth from this place to that trying to sort this out" And it is true, he had gone more than 30 minutes beyond the time that his shift ended. I know this because I asked another member of the Air India staff at one stage when he was absent for a while and when he returned he confirmed that this was the case. His shift was due to end at 14:30. It is also true that he had done everything in his power to help me but only when I threatened that I would take legal action against Air India. Up until that point he was saying that there was no way I could get another flight that day and I would have to travel the next day. This was echoed by all the rest of the Air India staff including one manager. So my reply to Mr. Kumar was "well perhaps you should find a job with a more trustworthy and reputable company. Do you like working for a company that does this sort of thing to it's customers ?"
One strange thing is that when I called air India to pre book my window seats that day, the operative at the call centre repeatedly told me NOT to check in for my seat online. He was quite emphatic about this and I had the impression that he was somehow making something out of it ??
In their liturgy Air India state that it is best to pre book your seat online to get "Good" seat. If this is done more than 24 hours in advance there is a charge.
Also, (after queuing for almost 2 hours) as soon as I told the woman at the Air India desk at Delhi international airport that I had pre booked my seats in the UK she immediately took me to anothef part of the airport to another air India counter to speak to someone else. It was not until this point that I was informed that the flight had been "overbooked"