SpiceJet Airlines — flight delayed -- disrupting entire holiday trip

Address:

Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, 500013

I am a pensioner and senior citizen.

I planned a trip along with my wife to kashmir more than one and half months i. E., on 31.10.18 and booked onward and return tickets from hyderabad to delhi, delhi - srinagar, srinagar-delhi, delhi-hyderabad in addition to hotel, travel agent package, journey starting from 23rd december 2018- the flight charges for the entire trip costed me rs 32, 560/- booked through makemytrip.

On 22 nd december, 2018 at 16:16 i received sms from spicejet as well as a recorded message that the flight from hyderabad to delhi which is to depart at 05:50 hrs will leave at 08:30 hrs due to operational issues.

I called the airlines immediately on their customer care number [protected] to inform them about my onward journey to srinagar, which i will not be able to, if the flight is delayed as the flight from delhi to srinagar is scheduled to leave at 10:25 hrs itself.

I requested them to assist me by arranging any other flight from hyderabad, even earlier hours so that my program will go on. I received reply they do not have any other flights to match the timings. Then i requested to liase with any other airline, for which also i received reply that they do not have any such arrangement and they cannot help!

I informed that i have to think over and i insisted on a complaint number... A ticket number 18352 was given at 16:25 hrs on 22.12.2018.

then i spoke to makemytrip on customer care number [protected] and informed them of the circumstances and sought their help. They said that another reservation can only be made.

then i booked another ticket from hyderabad to delhi on 23.12.18 through goibibo - goair flight no: g8421 leaving hyderabad 23.12.2018 at 05:35 hrs reaching delhi 07:55 hrs. Cost rs 16, 858/-

By this arrangement - i can still catch the spicejet flight from delhi to srinagar.

at this juncture, i called spice jet customer care and requested for cancellation of flight from hyderabad to delhi and to refund the amount. The customer care executive by name ms nidhi informed that as the delhi to srinagar flight is a connecting flight, parital cancellation is not possible and entire journey has to be cancelled. Having already booked goair flight i had no option but to agree to that and then thought of requesting for reservation again from delhi to srinagar.

ms nidhi then informed that cancellation was done and rs 18352 will be refunded through makemytrip.

then i called spice jet again, requested for rebooking the part of journey from delhi to srinagar. I spoke to customer care executive ms bhavana on this subject at about 17:15 hrs. She said that the booking will be treated as fresh booking and the cost will be about rs 30000 plus for two persons from delhi to srinagar. When i protested saying that the cancellation was warranted due to flight delay on their part and was done by them saying that the part journey provision is not there, she enquired from me whether their agent informed that way, and cancelled the ticket. When i said in affirmative, she took quite some time regarding this as she wanted to consult. At the end she said the seats are full on the flight, then after a short time informed that only one seat is available. I said it is not of any use as we are two people travelling, she asked me to call after 20 minutes, as they will verify and also explore the possibility of restoring the earlier cancellation.

when i called after 20 minutes at about 18:14 hrs, another customer care executive by name ms kriti or so took the call and informed that restoration is not possible and also that seats are full in the flight at 10:25 hrs and they cannot help.

this was a trip a planned for long back, all arrangements were made for the entire trip, return journey also. I had to cancel all bookings including hotel, return journey flights and also the fresh booking made through goair putting myself in great loss besides the disappointment, and letting down my wife for not going through the tour which has been planned for two months.

seeing all the unhelpful nature of the airline, i insisted with all customer care executives to record my protest/compliant voice or in writing, which they confirmed.

then i had to look again for reservation from delhi to srinagar.

difficult to believe this — i got tickets in the same flight spice jet leaving delhi at 10:25 hrs on 23:12.18 but at a whooping cost of rs 31, 469 /-. It is the same flight where the airlines confirmed that all seats are full and denied me booking, accomodation. And i completed the journey.

the above incident is very painful experience for me. The attitude of air line is unhelpful and deceitful.

i request that suitable action is taken against the airline for the deceitful dealings, so that they do not cheat customers in future and customers are also educated and alerted

i also demand that the airline compensate me for the loss i had to incur because of their fault and also for the mental agony i had to undergo to contact airlines, makemytrip, rebookings, cab booking and time for about 2 hours plus in the last minute on the evening of 22.12.2018 as the journey is to start in the early hours of 23.12.2018.

Amount claimed in damages:

1. Ticket booked by goair - hyderabad to delhi : rs 16, 858

2. Ticket rebooked on spice jet from delhi to srinagar : rs 31, 469



total : rs 48, 327

less - amount refunded by spice jet : rs 18, 352



net amount payable : rs 29, 975



claim for inconvenience and mental agony : rs 2, 00, 000

total amount claimed/demanded : rs 2, 29, 975

I lodged a formal compliant with [protected]@spicejet.com on 24.12.18 and pursued through phone calls.

Date time person how long spoke to

22.12.2018 16:19 10m58s
17:03 14m39s
17:32 57s
17:34 27m11s
18:15 23m21s
01.01.2019 10:57 18m36s
02.01.2019 12:33 15m10s
12:52 4m33s
12:57 49m46s

04.01.2019 11:44 [protected] 7m7s -

I have the names of persons who spoke also but do not to elaborate giving the names of persons who spoke at this point of time.

Both on 01.01.2019 and 02.01.2019, i was promised resolution within 24 hours, but no reply/resolution till date.

Even my travel agency, makemytrip got in touch with your people and they informed me through a call on 02.01.2019 at 19:46 hrs that your organisation promised to resolve in 24 hrs and communicate to me.

They did not respond till 04.01.2019, when i escalated the complaint to their nodal officer - [protected]@spicejet.com

I received reply from their [protected]@spicejet.com on 05.01.2019 as follows:
Quote :

Please note that we have reviewed on your concern and we regret our inability to consider your request for the same for compensation.

If you are not satisfied with the response of spicejet’s customer relations, then you may contact the nodal officer quoting your unique customer relation number at [protected]@spicejet.com

We would be happy to assist you, should you require any further clarification.

Unquote

On 06.01.2019 i received a reply from the [protected]@spicejet.com with the gist that "please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience you have experienced with respect to delay of flight... We deeply value your relationship with us but we regret that we would not be in a position to process your request for any monetary compensation... To mitigate your experience we wish to offer you a credit voucher worth 1000 inr per passenger that can be used for your future travel with spicejet."

When i saw the message on 08.01.2019, i informed my rejection of their offer and expressed my disappointment at their unhelpful attitude and that i would be pursuing the matter through forums for justice.

Please assist me in ensuring that justice is done to me besides ensuring that the airline does not take passengers for a ride henceforth.

Please acknowledge and inform me of any further steps to be taken from my side.

Regards,

Yours sincerely,

J. Suryanarayana