[Resolved]  Indigo Airlines — undue charges & unethical behavior

Sub: redressal of grievance.

Dear sir,

I am a senior citizen of india and being deeply shocked by the behavior and harassment imposed upon myself and my wife, also an elderly woman, by the indigo airlines, while we were scheduled to travel from hyderabad to kolkata by indigo flight, writing this detailed letter for your clear understanding and adequate redressal of our humiliation and re-imbursement/compensation of the monitory loss suffered through the indigo airlines.
I have obtained confirmed ticket for journey of myself and my wife from hyderabad to kolkata scheduled on 2nd september, 2018 at 6.00 pm, by flight no. 6e6927, pnr no.- aebpvj (Ticket copy enclosed).
I have duly web checked well before for the above ticket and obtained boarding pass with booked seat nos. 16e & 16f, out of which one is paid seat (Boarding pass enclosed). The boarding pass clearly indicates that the boarding gates will close before 25 minutes of the scheduled departure, i. E.in this case at 5.35 pm.
I have also received several sms in my mobile no. [protected], before the journey, advising us to just carry boarding pass print out, drop check in luggage and proceed directly for boarding and boarding will close 25 min. Prior to departure.
We came to visit hyderabad on a tour and totally unaware of the fact that on the same 2nd of september there was a huge political gathering near the airport and got badly stuck in the city by-passing ring road which we particularly availed for timely arrival in the airport positively by 4.0 to 4.15 pm as per advices of the car rental agency. But due to this unusual holding up in the city by-pass ring road, we arrived at the airport entrance at 5.05 pm and at the luggage drop counter at just 5.15 pm. We immediately requested the attending indigo staff to urgently receive our luggage since our boarding has just commenced.
But with our utter shock and disbelieve they refused to accept our luggage (2 nos. Regular suitcase) and disallowed us to board, despite our repeated request, whereas there was enough time left before boarding closer.
Had our luggage was received, it would have taken a maximum of 10 minutes time, i. E. By 5.25 pm (Even 10 minutes before boarding closer) within which we can complete security check and board the flight since the security counter was almost completely empty.
There was no mention in either of the boarding pass or in the series of sms, that, despite we have prior web-checked and displayed the printed boarding pass, our luggage cannot be accepted at 5.15 pm just on commence of the boarding for our above flight having departure at 6.0 pm.
I was advised to go to the booking counter and get a re-scheduled booking, if available.
I immediately attended the airport indigo booking counter for the same, where i was made to wait until almost the departure time of the flight 6e6927, after which i was again charged rs. 7, 378/- and issued ticket for flight 6e944 (Same booking reference and seat nos. 29a & 29b, departing hyderabad at 8.30 pm).
You would readily realize from the above that we have been very unethically and unlawfully denied boarding in the flight and as senior elderly persons subjected to enormous harassment and undue monetary penalty.
Even after this, the next course of harassment and deliberate insults were imposed upon us by some of the indigo staff on duty at airport.
Now, after dropping the luggage (2 nos. Regular suitcase) in your counter which were weighted and within the 15+15=30 kg threshold for 2 passengers, i was carrying a hand bag containing some packed biscuits taken for gift at kolkata & my laptop, mobile chargers, purse, medicines etc.in a laptop case taken separately because i have to show the same separately at the security counter, and my wife was carrying her small ladies bag containing her purse, spectacles and other personal ladies items &
A handbag containing a camera, lenses, camera charger etc. Very small items. All these small hand baggage carried by my wife & myself weight far less than 7+7=14 kg weight & dimensions of the hand luggage threshold.
But the indigo staff standing at the approach of the security check did not allow us to carry the same as hand luggage on the plea of more than 1 bag per passenger. I have asked him to weight all that we were carrying including the laptop, whether within 14 kg for two passengers and if we each carry the 2 small bags in a coupled way (Just the cover is separate) so that the same comes within single bag dimension threshold (Which was very much within) but he refused to listen anything and insisted to give two bags as check in luggage otherwise we will not be allowed to board. I had read the instruction on the ticket “one hand baggage weighing not more than 7 kgs (Including the laptop)” which transpires that the weight including laptop should be within the limit and it is not even a general practice for indigo also to consider a laptop or ladies personal bag as a countable hand bag if the weight is within limit.
In this connection i would like to mention you that when we had come to hyderabad by goair airlines flight we had same composer of hand luggage & it was not disallowed, we had visited andamans, vizac in other occasions by indigo airlines itself in the same composure and was never objected, my son came to hyderabd a few weeks before with his laptop casing & another hand luggage which was not disallowed.
Being compelled by the indigo staff, i went to weight and drop the 2 handbags in the check in counter and revealed that along with the weight of the previous dropped luggage the additional weight including these two hand luggage is only 7 kg more than the 30 kg threshold of check-in luggage. This clearly establishes that our hand lug gages were below 14 kg limit. I had again to pay rs. 2800/- for this 7 kg extra weight appeared due to the hand luggage dropping as checked in luggage, which is otherwise free of cost being well below the hand luggage weight & dimension limit. I was also not issued with a valid receipt of this money from the counter where the payment was taken through my debit card and on demanding a receipt i was informed that i have to go to a separate counter away from the place where the payment was received and by this time i was so exhausted that i could not further go to another place in the airport for the receipt.
But i have categorically noticed during boarding that many passengers some were carrying even a small suitcase along with another bag, some were carrying one bag and another large plastic packet and so on, for the same indigo flight and came to understand that it was a pick & choose business for ‘one bag only concept’ and cannot be a evenly practiced rule.
Bringing further insult to the injury, when i was busy in the luggage counter my wife had inquired to the indigo staff who refused our boarding with the hand bags, that on what basis this arbitrary action is being taken. His answer to my wife, who can well be at his mother’s age and a gazetted govt. Officer, was that “you look like travelling by air for the first time in your life”. My wife was very much upset and felt insulted with these very objectionable remarks and asked the staff to disclose his name, designation & other identity, but the staff quickly left the place without answering, which is also an offense for any on-duty staff.
The entire course of matter has bewildered us to such an extent that we got frightened to travel by air again at least with indigo.

Should i consider that this is the behavior and way of dealing with the passengers that has been adopted and practiced through the multiple staffs of a reputed airline like indigo? Is this the way how indigo treats senior citizens and elderly women passengers in india?

I, hope you would readily understand the depth of our grievance which prompted me to write such an elaborate letter to you.

I would appreciate if you look into the gravity of this matter, take curative actions so that such treatment to passengers do not recur, and arrange to refund me the additional money taken very unethically from us.

Expecting your early response,
Thanking you,

Yours sincerely,

Subir kanungo
Kolkata
Enclo:
Copy of original tkt. Flight 6e6927
Copy of original boarding pass
Copy of re-scheduled ticket
Copy of reschedule boarding pass