Airlines Complaints
Indian Airlines Industry has recently become one of the fastest-growing airlines industries in the world. They generate a huge amount of income and employment. There are about 450 airports and more than 1000 registered aircrafts in India today.
But nothing can ruin a holiday than diligently planning a whole trip with excitement, only to arrive disappointedly at the airport to find out that there is some glitch.
The most common airline complaints in 2019 was lost baggage. According to a recent survey, an average of 1 in 150 people have their checked baggage lost or left behind every year. The other common airline complaint is flight delay. Apart from flight delay, consumer often face issues like promised refund not given, ticket cancelled, flight cancelled without prior knowledge, rude staff behaviour etc.
As per Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) guidelines for flight delays, the Airlines should inform about flight delays promptly to the passengers with reasons. If a flight is delayed beyond 2-3 hours, airlines should offer compensation and assistance, which may include meals, refreshments, and accommodation. Also, the passengers should be given options for full refund or re-booking the next available flight. These guidelines regarding delay and cancellation, helps passengers to understand their rights. Hence it is possible to get flight delay compensation in India.
If you have faced these kinds of problems with your airline, you must have brought it to airline authorities' notice by complaining. In this article, we have mentioned India's famous airlines, and the types of complaints the airlines' passengers face with them.
FAMOUS AIRLINES IN INDIA
1. Go Air:
Go Air has secured a spot in the list of best Airlines in India. It was founded in November 2005 by Jeh Wadia, an Indian industrialist. In October 2017, it was India's fifth largest airline and had a considerable market share of 8.4%. The airline is a fully-owned subsidiary of Wadia Group and started its operations in November 2005. The airline operates 230 daily flights to 30 significant destinations, which have 24 domestic and 6 international destinations. The airline has its hubs at Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kannur, and Kolkata.2. Air India Express:
Air India Express is an economical airline having its headquarters in Kerala. Airlines are operated by Air India Express Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of India's national carrier Air India. It runs around 649 flights per week to 33 Middle East and Southeast destinations. The airline has a fleet of aircraft 25 Boeing 737-800 and carries approximately 4.3 million passengers every year.3. Spice Jet:
Spice Jet is a low-cost airline having its headquarters in Gurugram, India. Initially, in 1994 it was established as air taxi provider ModiLuft and then later in 2004, it was renamed Spice Jet by an Indian entrepreneur and started its operation in May 2005. According to data in March 2019, Spicejet was the second-largest airline in India and had 13.6% of the market share in the number of passengers. Spicejet has a fleet of Boeing 737 and Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft. It operates 312 flights daily to 55 destinations, which include 7 international and 47 domestic destinations. Many flights are operated from Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Hyderabad.4. IndiGo:
Indigo was founded in 2006 by Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal as a private company and had its headquarters in Gurugram. The airline had its first aircraft in July 2006, and it started its operations in 2016. By 2012 it became the largest Indian carrier, and in 2015 it went limited and issued a share to the public. Indigo has an immense fleet size in India and a maximum domestic share. Also, Indigo is the largest individual Asian low-cost carrier in passengers' carried and jet fleet size. Maximum flights of Indigo are operated from Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi.5. Air India:
Air India is a very own national carrier of India and was founded by J.R.D. Tata as Tata Airlines in 1932. It has its headquarters in New Delhi, and after the second world war, it became a public limited company. Afterward, it was renamed Air India and is owned by Air India Limited, a government-owned enterprise. With a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, the airline serves 94 international and domestic destinations. Air India has two sister companies Air India Express and Alliance Air, which operates in India and Asian destinations.6. Air Asia India:
Air Asia India started as a joint venture with AirAsia Berhad and Tata Sons. AirAsia Berhad has a 49% stake, and Tata sons have the remaining 51%. It started its operations on 12 July 2014 from Bangalore and has a market share of 6.5%. With a fleet of Airbus A 320-200 aircraft, it serves 24 destinations.TYPES OF AIRLINES COMPLAINTS
Indian Airlines has seen one of the best growth among all airline industries of this world, but with all this growth and rapid development, our aviation sector has also experienced many kinds of turbulence.
Among 1000s of Indian airline companies, some of the most famous airlines such as AirIndia, Spicejet etc. have seen their customers regularly filing a complaint against them.
Some widespread airline complaints include rude behavior of staff, refund not given, and baggage lost. Apart from this, many airlines have faced aircraft turn-around times, which results in delays in flight for its passengers. Here are some common types of airline complaints:
1. Customer Service
2. Flight Delay
3. Booking and Refund
Another prevalent issue faced by many air passengers is related to airline industries' booking and refund conditions. The most-reported complaint under this category is the lack of flexibility in tickets where airline industries usually decline to refund the amount if something unexpected happens, such as illness or accident of a family member. Apart from this, many famous airlines are reported for being very slow in the procedure of a promised refund. Due to this, passengers have to struggle, and sometimes they are not appropriately compensated. Moreover in recent times of pandemic the most common consumer complaint was that passengers are not getting refund inspite of the fact that their flights were cancelled by the Airlines due to Covid-19 pandemic.4. Lost Baggage
5. Cleanliness of Cabins
6. Meals
7. Hidden Charges
8.Change of Aircraft
How to resolve Airlines complaints?
1. File support ticket/send an email:
Air India Express - customersupport@airindiaexpress.in
Spice Jet - custrelations@spicejet.com
Go Air - feedback@goair.in
Vistata - custrelations@airvistara.com
2. Call Customer support:
Indigo Customer Care No. - 0124 617 3838
GoAir Customer Care No. - 1860 210 0999
AirIndia Customer Care No. - 1860 233 1407
SpiceJet Customer Care No. - 096540 03333
AirAsia Customer Care No. - 080 4666 2222
Vistara Customer Care No. - 092892 28888
AirCosta Customer Care No. - 1800-4250-0666
3. Report to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA):
4. Send Legal Notice:
Step 1: Firstly, get a legal notice drafted by a lawyer.
Step 2: Check it properly and make sure it is signed by lawyer.
Step 3: Keep a copy of it for future purposes. Step 4: Send the legal notice to Airlines by registered post.
Step 5: Keep the slip or delivery report for evidence.
5. File consumer forum case:
If Airlines is not responding to your complaints even after sending legal notice by a lawyer then you should file a case against it in a consumer court.
Here is how you can file a case in the consumer court?
Step 1: Intimate the aggrieved party via legal notice.
Step 2: Draft the consumer complaint
Step 3: Attach all the relevant documents and proofs to support your complaint.
Step 4: Select the appropriate court for filing the complaint.
Step 5: Pay the prescribed court fee that is required to be paid along with the complaint.
Step 6: Submit the case along with the affidavit & fees in the court.
Flying in an airline is often a memorable experience, but sometimes it can be memorable for all wrong reasons, and we have mentioned many of those reasons above. Once again to summarize, it is to be noted that the first point of contact should be the airlines itself. Customer satisfaction is as important to airlines as it is to other businesses.
The airlines have allotted separate ticket desks, lounges and baggage claim sections to help the consumers. If this does not solve the problem then the consumer should file a written complaint to the airline. This will act as a proof that you did something from your side in later stages and moreover put pressure on the airlines.
However if the consumer is still left stranded with nowhere else to go then the consumers can always file a consumer complaint at Voxya. We at Voxya, generally receive about 1000s of complaints related to these Airlines in a month.
So how do we actually resolve these airline complaints? We start a social media campaign and then send an email to the company to resolve the complaint amicably. Moreover if strict actions need to be taken then we draft a legal notice and send it to the concerned airline.
Most Common Issue Reported for Airlines Complaints
Complaints
Kiran Goutam Dhananjayan on Aug 27, 2024
Air India – Missing BaggageClosed
My baggage has been missing for the past month now
Anubhav Parashar on Aug 16, 2024
SPICEJET LIMITED – Spicejet bad customer service Zero refund and Rescheduling charges very highClosed
I have booked a SpiceJet flight via the Goibibo application; due to unforeseen circumstances, I need to change my flight dates. But the Spice team is charging me approx. Rs. **,*** for rescheduling, and even if I c...
Soni Pandey on Aug 11, 2024
Indigo Airline – refund not given Closed
Respected sir/ma'am I am here by to complain against indigo airlines for Job of( air ticketing) they have assured me that I have been selected for this particular job n they have ask me to deposit registration amoun...
Sunanda Menon on Jun 27, 2024
MakeMyTrip – transaction failed ticket not issued refund needed Closed
I had booked a flight for Amritsar to pune via MakeMyTrip. And the amount for the same got deducted from my bank account. But it shows transaction failed! And I have tried my best to reach to MakeMyTrip but they're ...
Shailesh Bokil on May 12, 2024
Indigo – Compensation for delayed cancelled flight not recievedClosed
I had booked a Indigo flight for *th March from Mumbai to Stockholm which after being delayed for about ** hours was finally cancelled. Me and my family were stranded first at Mumbai airport and then at Istanbul Air...
Kusum Kumar on Apr 25, 2024
Air India – Seeking compensation due to physical suffering and mental agonyClosed
I had booked ticket from San Francisco to Delhi on **July **** for my Spouse (Ankita Kumari) and my child who is infant (Kashvi Kumari). The date of flight was **Oct****. It was booked more than * months in advance...
Subhrojit Roychaudhury on Apr 9, 2024
Go First Air – refund is stuck since may23Closed
My flight tickets from goair was cancelled on May'** as all airlines were shut. till now refund received.Please have a look at this matter.
Shoaib Ahmad on Feb 20, 2024
Indigo Airlines – Refund is not provided by Indigo Airlines in medical emergency Closed
I couldn't travel on my flight from Lucknow to Bangalore on * Feb **** because my daughter (** months age)was not well. She was suffering from diarrhoea and doctor advised medicine and rest for her. So I called cu...
Sumeet Arora on Jan 21, 2024
British Airways – Denied boarding by airlineClosed
Our family was unexpectedly denied boarding at the last minute by British Airways staff because our * year old child, who holds an Irish residence permit, was missing a visa not required for entry to Ireland. Both p...
Megha Pradeep on Jan 11, 2024
Yatra – flight cancelled refund not received yetClosed
I had booked a ticket from kolkata to bangalore for feb *th on *st jan, i had to cancel the flights cause of personal reason, but i cancelled under the dgca policy, to get full refund. they said as soon as the airli...
Manoj Kumar Giri on Jan 7, 2024
Easemytrip – Not getting refund of my rejected flight booking from easemytripClosed
We have tried to book a return flight trip from Bengaluru to Gorakhpur on Easemytrip portal. I used netbanking option to make the payment of Rs *****/- towards the flight booking. For some reason the the booking go...
Dhruvkumar Patel on Jan 2, 2024
Air india – Refund not receivedClosed
Ticket was cancelled on *st November but refund is not received. There is no proper response from customer service of air India and they just close the ticket after reply to mail that refund was issued.
Shashwathi S on Jan 1, 2024
Air India Express Ltd – Request for refund for Flight Booking ID with PNR Closed
Respected Sir, This is regarding the request for a refund through the source card ending **** as the booking was done from Goibibo with reference ID: E-Ticket for Your Flight Booking ID: GOFLDNTAND*E*HPF**** wi...
Sumit Ranjan Maiti on Dec 30, 2023
Indigo Air lines – travelling baggage has been damaged Closed
My wife took the **:** Indigo flight from Kolkata to Bengaluru on **/**/****(Flight no. *E ***). After reaching the destination she didn't receive the check in baggage from the counter after waiting approximately **...
Harish Selvam on Dec 15, 2023
Yatra Com – Flight cancellation refund issueClosed
I’ve booked flight ticket from Delhi to Chennai through Yatra.com. Total ticket cost is Rs.****. When I tried to cancel the flight ticket, I’m getting Rs.* for refund. Please need help with getting my money ba...
Deena Reena Sequeira on Nov 30, 2023
Cleartrip com – Refund not processed by Cleartrip inspite of policyClosed
I was supposed to get refund from cleartrip.com, inspite of airline agency saying we are fully eligible for refund.
Pratichi M on Nov 7, 2023
Cleartrip – Not refunding my amount which the airline has refundedClosed
As per the airlines spicejet its been clearly mentioned if I cancel my flight within ** hours of booking, I am eligible for full refund and after speaking with the airline and agency I have cancelled my flight. N...
Ruby on Oct 22, 2023
Indigo Airline – NAME CHANGE ISSUE Closed
I really had worst experience with this People couple of times. Now when I do have a future booking and I missed to add my husband's surname. The flight is on November **, ****. When I call them to change it on **/*...
Sagar Punjani on Oct 3, 2023
Make my trip – Money deducted but booking failed Closed
I was booking a domestic flight from Mumbai to Ahmedabad for ** October. After filling all the details i was asked to pay the amount, after completing the payment money got deducted instantly but when payment gatewa...
Kenith Aiyappa on Sep 20, 2023
AirAsia – AirAsia International flight got rescheduled twice and the latest rescheduled date is not feasible fClosed
Me and my friends (* people) booked return tickets from Cebu (Philippines) to Chennai (India) for **th Oct ****. A week back the flight got rescheduled to **th Oct. I tried to cancel the flights but since Airasia do...
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