[Resolved]  Sheikh Jamil Ahmad — Financial Loss due to Air India

Address:

Chandigarh, Chandigarh

CARELESS ATTITUDE OF INDIAN AIRLINES
I would like to bring in the terrible experience we had on for our flight from New Delhi to Ahmedabad. Our flight was scheduled from New Delhi on 13 July 2012 at 0600 hrs in the morning. We were four family members to board. Myself (Ajay Arora), my wife( Paramjit kaur) and my twin infants ( Devansh and Divyanshi each 07 months old).
Even though we had to handle two infant babies with us we reached the airport before time and checked in at 0450 hrs. We were issued with the boarding pass at 0528 hrs due to rush at the queue. Thereafter we went for the security check of the hand bags. We were made to wait there for another 5 to 10 minutes. After the security clearance we walked to the main exit gate for boarding the aircraft with both o[censored]s loaded with our twin babies and the handbags. The moment we reached the gate they said that they were waiting for us. Then we explained to them that we were stuck at the security check. The other person on duty said that now we cannot board the plane as the air crew will not allow us to. They refused to open the gate and curtly asked us to return and ask at the enquiry counter. They did not listen to our explanation of being held at the security check counter. The staff did not even pay heed to the point that, me and my wife were travelling with one infant each in our hands and the hand baggages too. They only told us that your luggage will be downloaded from the aircraft and be given back to us at the basement area. Devastated we had no other way but to return back to the enquiry area for the future of the tickets on which we were to travel. Moreover I was more worried about my office meeting /conference which I would miss at my Ahmedabad office for which I was travelling. We faced procedural difficulties to return to enquiry counter via security counter also. After reaching enquiry counter we were told that we have to purchase fresh tickets and it is not sure for which flight time get the tickets. After running around for two hours and requesting we were given tickets of 2030 hrs flight the same evening. During this running around my wife was alone handling both the infants with no facility of even a pram or a carrycot at the airport (we enquired but were told that there is no such facility) where as we studied on the net for Indian airlines that care is taken for infants by providing a pram. We sat at the waiting area throughout the day with whatever minimal was available with us. The care, the responsibility factor that Indian airlines has shown towards me, my ailing wife and my twin infants has cautioned me against the poor service, irresponsibility and carelessness of the Indian airlines.
Not only that the flight we had in the evening was late by 30 minutes. In front o[censored]s in waiting lounge we saw the aircrew rather the captain scolding the gate staff for not announcing the flight calls and not even informing the waiting passengers for boarding of the airlines. The same was not even known to captain and aircrew who in hurry went for the airlines in front o[censored]s and the other passengers. After boarding the airlines we came to know that we were given the seats besides the emergency door. With the infants each in our lap somehow travelled our journey still wondering whether to travel by Indian airlines or not in future. We had to travel further from Ahmedabad to our place of reaching point (Vadsar) by taxi at midnight with our luggage and babies in hand paying another Rs 1500/-.
There was another point noticed by us. When we had checked in our luggage in the morning it weighed 60 kg approx. whereas when we weighed the same luggage while checking in at the evening it weighed 54 kg approx. it questions , are the Indian airlines weighing machines calibrated in time, or the show weight at random as per their whims and fancies.
Once the boarding passes are issued to the passenger is it not the responsibility of the airlines to help the passenger and rather wait for the passenger to board the aircraft??? The harassment we faced throughout the day with our infants crying (being uncomfortable at the airport), the time wasted by us at the airport ,the financial loss I faced for repurchasing the tickets, the conference which I missed was a horrendous experience and is unpardonable. Many of my friends had advised me not to opt for Air India but still then i persisted with my decision as i have been flying using Air India for quite a while.
But i am sorry to say that after this incident i would never use Air India for any of my travel purposes. Moreover i would advise my colleagues to opt for some other flight.
For the financial loss of Rs 35,484/- approx and the harassment we faced during our journey from New Delhi to Ahmedabad, I request the authorities of Indian airlines to compensate for my loss.
Break up given below:
Ticket: 8984/-
Taxi Charges: 1500/-
Mentally Harassment: 25000/-
Total: 35484/-
Regards,
Ajay Arora
[protected]