Jet Airways — non issue of boarding ticket for a fully paid ticket

Address:

Mumbai City, Maharashtra

Dear sir
I take the privilege of introducing myself as dr. Ayyappan, at present working abroad. I recently had a terrible experience flying jet airways to the us wherein i was not given all boarding cards to my final destination. I wrote to the company. Please refer trailing mail sent by me to jet airways and the reply
To customer care, jet airways:
I take the privelege of introducing myself as dr. S. Ayyappan, a professor from chennai presently working abroad. I wish to bring to your attention my horrifying travel experience with your airlines two days ago. Please read below the sequence of events below
At chennai airport:
• i had a confirmed travel document with a single booking reference to fly from chennai to new york. I was to fly with jet airways until london and subsequently with your code sharing partner virgin atlantic until new york. The date of travel was 19th january leaving chennai to mumbai by the 5.45 am jet airways flight 9w 686, leaving mumbai to london by 9.25am with virgin atlantic 8016 operated by jet airways 118 and finally from london to new york by jet airways 586 operated by virgin atlantic by 9w 9 (Reference 1 and 1a). To my understanding and logic, a single booking reference implies that i be provided boarding passes until the final destination at the point of boarding
• i had reported to the jet airways counter at chennai airport domestic terminal for obtaining my boarding passes after following the usual check baggage screening by 3.30 am. The jet airways counter traffic assistant initially was able to print the boarding pass only for the chennai-mumbai flight 9w 686. On insisting that i require all the boarding passes until new york since i have a confirmed booking until my final destination, the concerned traffic assistant responsible for issuing my boarding passes immediately went over to consult with another assistant working close by in another counter. She got back and informed me to wait until the issue was sorted out.
• about half an hour later, she came down to the jet airways airport office situated in the airport and was seen discussing with the other staff in the office. I was unaware of what transpired.in the meanwhile mr. Pandian, the deputy manager was seen joining in the conversation.
• at about 4.30am, i was asked to return back to the jet airways ticketing counter to receive the boarding tickets. I was handed the boarding tickets for the chennai-mumbai and mumbai-london sectors but not the boarding ticket for the london-new york sector. I was informed by the traffic assistant and mr. Pandian that they are unable to print the london-new york ticket and that they have been trying to get help from mumbai help desk of virgin atlantic/jet airways for facilitating the printing of the boarding ticket for the london-new york sector. I was advised to take the flight until london and subsequently get the london-new york boarding ticket at the virgin atlantic help desk during transit in london. This was orally communicated to me but no official written document or directions to that effect was provided by jet airways for the same. I was extremely surprised by this suggestion and about the lack of knowledge about visa rules by your staff. I had mentioned that i do not have a uk visa but still was advised to go ahead. It was a risk i was unwilling to take. Further, no arrangements are made by the airlines to facilitate travel without any hindrance to my final destination new york.
• it was getting close to 5 am at this point. Mr. Melvin, your supervisor joined the conversation at this point. He rudely told me that ‘the ticket is not printing. What do you want us to do? If you do not take the available tickets, you will miss this flight as well’. Instead of trying to find a solution to the problem, he was passing ridiculous comments. He also made another flippant remark that iam getting in to problems such as these as i have purchased cheap tickets from jet airways-virgin atlantic combination and i would do best to avoid them. I did not respond to this ‘suggestion’ from you own staff. I have travelled jet airways and virgin atlantic flights before and have enjoyed the flights. However, the attitude of mr. Pandian was very pleasant and co-operative and he tried hard to help me in the situation the best he could. He had no clue to why the boarding ticket was not printing. He was however helpless and suggested that i could try in mumbai to get my london-new york boarding ticket which seemed a practical suggestion. I had to take the boarding tickets provided in chennai for the chennai-mumbai and mumbai london sectors as i was made to believe that i will get the final boarding card at mumbai. I was also left with no other options and pushed in to a corner since i had made plans to meet up with some associates in new york on 19th evening and had subsequent travel plans the same day. I was holding on to a confirmed booking from another airline from new york on the 19th late night. My baggage was tagged on until new york but i was provided with boarding tickets only until london. As it was getting late, i was escorted to the security by mr. Pandian and allowed to by-pass other passengers to help me board the flight on time to mumbai.
In mumbai airport:
• my travails continued in mumbai as well.
• on arrival in mumbai, i immediately went over to the jet airways ticketing section at about 8.15am to obtain my boarding pass for the london-new york sector). The customs relations officer on duty ms. Samreen (As written on her name badge) told me to check with virgin atlantic ticketing section to get the boarding card but also mentioned that it was closed at this point of time in the morning!!!. She further told me to do a web check in. I had mentioned that i do not have any access to the internet as i had used up the free service in chennai itself. She mentioned that i could use one of the computer kiosks available at the airport for the same. I proceeded immediately to the security as the connecting time to the jet airways flight to london was only one hour forty five minutes. I had called up my people in chennai to recharge my internet account and proceeded to web check in. The virgin atlantic web site did not approve my booking reference, itinerary number or e ticket number. I hence called up the virgin atlantic toll free call centre to check out. This call was placed at about 8.30am on 19th to the number in the uk ([protected]). To my dismay, i was informed that they were unable to locate my particulars and that i was not listed on the virgin atlantic london new york flight for that day!!!
• by now i was frantic and helpless. It was an extremely stressful period. I had reached immigration at this point. The immigration officer categorically told me that it was risk for me to take the flight as i do not have a uk visa and that i will eligible for a transit only if i have the required visa documents or the boarding ticket for the onward journey from london. His information was entirely justifiable and based on rules and regulations as i did not possess a uk visa and had only the us visa. He subsequently personally escorted me to another immigration officer working in the immigration office located just beyond the immigration check point. This officer too seconded the opinion of the first person and immediately referred me to a jet airways staff who had visited the office.
• the jet airways staff immediately made some phone calls and informed me that i had missed the jet airways flight to london which i was scheduled to travel. I had told him about my check in luggage. He mentioned that the baggage will not be loaded if the passenger does not take the flight. I was escorted out via immigration and security and my mumbai-london boarding pass was cancelled (Reference 2). I was taken back to the ticketing section and left to meet with the staff. I went over and spoke to the supervisor about my predicament. She checked and miraculously, came out with the information that they were able find my ticket for the original london –new york flight. This was now simply a case of shutting the stables after the horse has bolted. It was now clear to me that your airlines had completely messed up my travel plans. She was unable to answer why my boarding card was not provided to me initially in chennai s is the routine procedure or when i visited their counter earlier in the day immediately on arrival in to mumbai. I was only informed that my baggage will be retagged to my final destination if i take the flight on the same day or else i may need to collect my baggage and re check again if i am looking at taking the flight the next day. By now, i was desperate and wanted to leave at the earliest. My connecting flight schedules and my meetings had gone hay wire and had to be cancelled. Iam sure you understand it was a stressful situation. Iam severely diabetic and on insulin therapy thrice a day and this situation compounded my problems greatly. I was very disappointed about how casual and apathetic the response was to my enquiry to provide the boarding card when i landed in mumbai and to the unconcerned and callous way in which a paying customer is treated in india. I was now suggested to reschedule my flight and sent out to meet the reservation staff. There was not even the basic courtesy of asking a supporting staff to accompany me to help me out. My subsequent change in tickets was handled by ms. Joe ann at the reservation counter who issued me new tickets with a new travel schedule after consultations probably with her superiors. I was not charged anything which itself indicated that the fault was entirely on your company. I had asked and was therefore provided the older and new travel schedules and pnr (Reference 3)
• i was again sent back to the ticketing section. By now, the error was probably recognised and the attitude of the staff at the ticketing counter had changed and were quite eager to help out. Ms. Shareen, the customs relations manager referred me to a staff (Supervisor) who issued me fresh boarding passes (Mumbai-london and london-new york) (Reference 5 and 5a) and new baggage tags were printed (Reference 4). I failed to comprehend why this service was not provide to me earlier and that would have saved me and your company a lot of trouble. I was informed that i can collect my baggage in new york. No other courtesies were provided. I had asked ms. Shareen to issue a letter indicating the reason for not providing me a boarding card for the london-new york sector despite having a confirmed ticket. She asked for my e mail id and mentioned that chennai office needs to provide me the reasons and that she will be referring my issue to chennai. It was now clearly a case of passing the buck and shifting the blame. I am yet to get any mail to that effect from jet airways. Ms. Shareen was kind enough to provide me her personal contact number.
At london heathrow:
• i boarded the jet airways 9w118 which had a delayed departure from mumbai and consequently a late arrival in london heathrow. I had rush to take my connecting flight. I noticed that there was no help desk either from jet airways or from virgin atlantic nor was any staff present from either of these airlines to meet and guide us in transit.in hind thought, it was probably a wise decision for me not to take the original flight with boarding pass until london only which was issued to me in chennai. I made it just in time to board the new york flight. The virgin atlantic staff checking the boarding cards had some difficulty in checking me in. Again, this was tense situation but the staff were able to finally check me in to board the flight. The flight was pleasant and the arrival time in new york was spot on

At jfk, new york
• it was announced that the baggage can be collected at carousel 3 in jfk. I found to my dismay that my baggage was not to be found. This was adding insult to the injury. I was extremely tired from the ordeal and wanted to rest. I waited patiently for over an hour for my baggage to arrive but it was of no avail. I was advised by the virgin atlantic agent that my baggage may not have been loaded either in mumbai or london and was asked to file a complaint.
• i have filed a complaint for missing baggage with virgin atlantic in new york (Jfkvs 13194) (Reference 6 and 6a) and have been following up with the virgin atlantic office. I understand that my baggage has since reached new york and awaiting delivery. I have medications for my problem which have been stored in the baggage and this deficiency in service has upset my health.
I have been flying for about 24 years and have been a frequent flier. I wish to place on record that this has been my worst flying experience by far. I have had some minor difficulties such as flight delays in the past with other airlines but those were completely understandable.
This experience beats me. I simply fail to understand how a paying passenger with a single booking reference and a single confirmed ticket was not issued all the boarding passes and was also asked to take the flight to another country and get the boarding ticket from there for the onward journey despite not having a visa. This clearly shows a gross deficiency in service and lack o[censored]nderstanding of visa rules by your staff. I have been made to run from pillar to post in mumbai and in new york. Your actions have caused mental agony, physical stress and unnecessary tension and that has affected my health. I have lost out financially due to my cancelled meetings and flights and my routines have been affected.in this context, iam seeking compensation for the tremendous stress your airlines have caused. I am asking for a payment o[censored]sd 2000 or its equivalent to offset my expenses and loss. I hope you agree with me that iam being very reasonable and have taken in to account only my financial loss. The mental agony and the stress that you have caused is incalculable.
Please rest assured that i would like not to escalate this issue further after settlement. I will make further decisions based on your response. I would like to get over the episode as soon as possible. However, be informed that i can be tenacious and relentless in getting what i feel is right. Iam not interested in hearing any technical justifications from your side as your airlines has miserably failed in its rightful duty to a paying customer in providing normal basic services.
I shall look in to further action using the multimedia and the press trust of india (I do have a close client working in pti who can sympathize with my cause) if your response to my complaint is unheeded and see that such an instance does not befall other passengers in future. I shall also contemplate proceeding legally in this regard if the need arises.
Look forward to hearing from you at the earliest.
Kind regards
S. Ayyappan

In response, i received the below mail:

Subject: fw: fw: csmblf - bom/cc/240118/3457792 :

Dear dr ayyappan,

Thank you for your email.

I am sorry to note the inconvenience caused to you on your travel from chennai to new york.

Having examined the issue, please allow me to address the issue objectively:

At chennai airport:

When you reported for check in there was no booking for you on the onward flight from mumbai. Our airport team reinstated the booking and the reissued the original ticket. However, while they were able to issue your boarding pass till london, they were not able to issue a boarding pass from london to new york. This was perhaps due to sync issue between two airline systems. Hence staff requested you to contact our desk at mumbai if they could issue the boarding pass.

In mumbai airport:

Staff was not able to issue the boarding pass from amsterdam to new york from mumbai as well. While i will not be able to comment on the reason why immigration did not allow you to travel. Please allow me to clarify, since you had a firm ticket from london to new york, a us visa and the fact you were not be exiting the airport, you could travel up to london and contact the transit gate in london for the boarding pass. We had in fact send a message across to our london teams to ensure you were assisted on arrival. However, since it was not possible to connect you on the flight, staff re issued the ticket and were able to get the boarding pass till the final destination.

At london heathrow:

Thank you for your feedback, we will share your feedback internally for review.

At jfk, new york

We regret to note the inconvenience caused to you on arrival. Please allow me to share, as per establish iata procedures any baggage mishandling has to be followed up and compensated by the last delivering carrier which was virgin atlantic in your case. May we request you to follow this up with virgin atlantic.

It is evident that overall the experience was not seamless and the interactions with our staff also left with a lot to be desired. I am grateful for you taking the time to pen this in so much detail. I have shared your feedback with the head of departments concerned for better handling

While we sincerely regret our inability to compensate as requested. I however look forward to ensuring you have seamless travels in future and will seek its details to ensure we monitor

Thanking you,

Anil d’souza

Assistant manager-guest relations

Iam bringing this to your notice and also looking at legally proceeding against them for the inconvenience and the expenses in cancelling and rebooking all my connecting flights.
Look forward to hearing from you
Kind regards
Ayyappan