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 complaints include, promised refund not given, ticket/flight cancelled without prior knowledge, rude staff behaviour etc.
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
In the past few years, many passengers of some highly reputed airlines have shared their experiences where they had to face the rude behavior of the airline's customer service representatives. Most passengers faced rude behavior, absent onboard services, and poor language skills from the airline's representatives in these kinds of complaints.
2. Flight Delay
In 2019, the Air Passengers Association president accepted that many airlines are facing aircraft turn-around time issues. These turn-around time issues are the main reason behind the delay of flights, which has left many passengers frustrated. Many top airline customers have reported that they were not informed about their flight's updated timings by the airline industry. Thus, failing to use emails or SMS services to inform their customers has made flight delays a pervasive and frustrating issue for consumers in almost all the major cities like Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai etc.
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
Lost baggage is one of the most frequently experienced and common issues faced by air passengers in Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi and Kolkata. The airline industries have ignored the inconvenience faced by their customers in case of misplaced luggage. For the past few years and indeed, it has left many passengers upset and disappointed. Many customers have claimed that their lost or misplaced luggage carried their valuables, urgent medications etc. but they have not been compensated appropriately by the airlines.
5. Cleanliness of Cabins
Many airline industries of today's time claim to be more aware of the cleanliness of their cabins, but many passengers of these airlines have actively reported their concern about cleanliness and hygiene. Apart from the poor condition of cabins, cleanliness of washrooms and dirty seats are also some of the most common issues faced by these airline industries' passengers.
5. Meals
Onboard catering has always remained a concerning area for airline industries, which directly results in the passengers' disappointment with the meals offered to them. Many passengers have been served the wrong food and the food quality has also remained low compared to passengers' expectations.
6. Hidden Charges
The bulk of customers' anger is aimed at low-cost airlines that have additional hidden charges that disturb the trip's budget. Such airlines have complicated ancillary fee rules which customers have to read.
7. Change of Aircraft
In recent years there is a trend among some customers where they specifically book preferred seats in preferred aircraft but they feel very dissatisfied when they come to know that they have to change the plane and their preferred seats have been changed.
How to resolve Airlines complaints?
1. File support ticket/send an email:
You can always contact airlines through their official website by going to their contact us section and by sending them an email. Customer service emails of some leading Airlines are:
Air India Express - customersupport@airindiaexpress.in
Spice Jet - custrelations@spicejet.com
Go Air - feedback@goair.in
Vistata - custrelations@airvistara.com
2. Call Customer support:
All these airlines have a 24*7 customer care number who are always willing to help the customer. To resolve these complaints, you can always call their toll-free customer service numbers. The customer care numbers of some of top airlines in India are :
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):
If the Airlines is not willing to help or acting aloof at any stage then the consumer can file a complaint with a Government Agency that oversees air travel. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is the governing body overseeing air travel in India.
4. Send Legal Notice:
Consumers can send legal notices to Airlines in case it is unable to resolve his complaint. It is one of the efficient ways to handle the issue legally. Check below to know how to send a legal notice to Airlines?
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:
Consumer forum deals with consumer complaints and you should approach the consumer forum if you feel that your rights as a consumer have been violated.
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
Gofirst refund (Gofirst Airlines And Experience Andaman) Open
We booked tickets to Andaman from chennai to and fro during may ** through go first airlines via Experience Andaman agency . The flights got cancelled by GoFirst Airlines and they assured refund but still not received the payment. The airlines ...
Mar 17, 2024 by Ravi
Flight rescheduled with the first leg after the second leg of the journey (Kuwait Airways and Easemytrip) Open
I booked my flight ticket from Bangalore to London on ** Jan **** for the travel dates (Bangalore to London **th Apr **** and Edinburgh to Bangalore on **-Apr-****). The tickets are booked through HDFC Smart Buy and the agent was Easemytrip. ...
Mar 15, 2024 by Arunanand Thayyathazhath Anandan
Refused to reimburse the amount spent by me to collect the luggage delayed by 1 day (Spicejet Air Line) Open
I have booked * tickets for me my wife on SpiceJet flight for sector IXZ-CCU dated ** Feb ****. The original ETD of the flight was **.** AM, however, we had received an SMS that the flight ETD had been revised to **.**. Keeping that in mind, b...
Mar 13, 2024 by Rahul Kumar
Regarding refund of Japan Airlines booking (Japan Airlines) Open
Dear Sir/Ma'am , I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to bring to your attention a distressing situation my wife and I have recently encountered with an airline company regarding a cancelled flight and subsequent denial of a refund...
Mar 13, 2024 by Vishal Khanna
Flight got Cancelled by the Airline Adani one is not refunding the whole amount (Adani one) Open
Booked Mumbai to Almaty flight through Adani One. Later the flight was cancelled by the airline. Total Booking amount is INR **** but instead of receiving a full refund I only received INR ****. Its difference of **** which I need to receive...
Feb 29, 2024 by Logu Easwaramoorthy
Mis Handling of baggage which results in damage of the baggage Unit (Indigo) Open
Hi, My wife along with * kids was travelling from Bangalore to Jharsuguda on Indigo Airlines *E-*** and with PNR WT*Y*Z. After landing at Jharsuguda Airport they found the Big AT make Trolley is complete broken at one of the corner and the whe...
Feb 29, 2024 by Rabindra Kumar Hota
Was not allowed to onboard flight (Indigo Airlines) Open
want to escalate and need help with my visit at Mumbai airport on **th Feb. I was not allowed to travel / onboard flight because of not being ** mins prior. I understand that I was a bit late and was at counter at *.**pm instead of *.**pm. Be...
Feb 21, 2024 by Babu Pujari
INDIGO Airline flight delay (Indigo) Open
My Indigo flight (*E **) on **/**/**** from Istanbul to New Delhi experienced a flight delay of over * hrs from its original scheduled departure time. The inconvenience caused me a lot of mental and physical grief and forced me to change my pla...
Feb 08, 2024 by PRASHANT NATH PATHAK
Refund not being processed into bank account (Spicejet) Open
I booked a ticket on **th of December **** for CCU-BLR flight scheduled on **st of December ****. I was already scheduled to visit doctor as my mother's health was not good. After visiting the doctor and within * hours of making the booking, I ...
Feb 06, 2024 by Nikhil Kumar Singh
Charges for Insurance made mandatory for part of the group (Qatar Airways) Open
This is in regards to the above mentioned Booking Reference Number. (My registered email id with airlines is Ibrahim.usmani@gmail.com and registered number is +************) I was a part of ** member delegation representing India in a five ...
Feb 02, 2024 by Ibrahim Usmani
Compensation for the baggae loss delay matter (Vietjet Airlines) Open
Baggage delayed more than one month and after many follow-up with Airline after PIR registration. No reply from airline after many follow-up for almost ** days. After ** days they replied with case of baggage delay and send my baggage which I r...
Feb 01, 2024 by Suresh Maruti Gunjal
Loss of laptop (Vietjet Air) Open
Hi! I am Vinay travelled from Bali to Delhi via Vietnam with your Airline Vietjet. I was carrying one macbook air & iPad . In my carry bag i was carrying macbook and iPad. On arrival when I opened my carry bag I did not find my Macbook. No one ...
Feb 01, 2024 by Vinay
No refund for cacelled rescheduled flight (Air Asia India) Open
Hello Team Voxya, This complaint is regarding two flight bookings, one for myself and the other for my wife. Booking No.*: Name: Ishan Akshat Booking Number: *********** PNR:YYS**U Air Asia I* *** Flight Mumbai to Ranchi Date Nov *th...
Jan 28, 2024 by Ishan Akshat
Boarding denied in flight (British Airways) Open
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 Parents Hold Valid Irish Resid...
Jan 27, 2024 by Sumeet Arora
Air Asia bots are operating the website (Air Asia) Open
PNR- WBWLNN I could not fly due to medical reasons. I shared the prescriptions dated *th Jan and **th Jan **** with Air Asia that I had herpes zoster and hence could not fly. They have instead refunded me Rs. ****/- in credits which cannot be ...
Jan 17, 2024 by Palak Agarwal
MyPartner Account documents taken but account not opened yet (Make My Trip) Open
I had signed up for the my partner account. I got a call from their agent for document verification. The agent name is Manish with contact number +** ********** he told after I send the documents it will take **-** mins to open so I sent it and...
Jan 04, 2024 by Nitu Devi Singhania
Refund not credited (Veertrip com) Open
I Booked Flight ticket on Veertrip com from Madurai to New delhi on *nd December **** amount has been deducted from my side but PNR status not issued to me PNR ID ********...
Jan 04, 2024 by P Thiruppathi
REQUEST REFUND FOR UNUTILISED TICKET (Emirates Airlines) Open
PURCHASED A AIR TICKET THRO EASEMYTRIP IN EMIRATES AIRLINE FOR KARTHIK PRAKASH MY SON UNDER PNR *WYLHR. AS PLAN CHANGED TICKET WAS CANCELLED & REFUND REQUESTED ON **TH DEC **. NO ACTION TAKEN BY THE THIRD PARTY AGENT S WELL THE AIRLINE EMIRATE...
Dec 30, 2023 by SWAMINATHAN PRAKASH
Complaint regarding misbehaviour of Turkish Airline staff and mental harassment (Turkish Airlines) Open
I tried to reach out to Turkish airlines through their feedback system but without success. Hence, I’m forced to use this route as a last resort to file a complaint. On **th June ****, me and my parents travelled from Izmir to Dubai via Ank...
Dec 30, 2023 by Anand Sharma
Europe tour package (Easemy Trip Com) Open
I have to inform you that I bought a Europe holiday package from easemytrip.com My package start on **.**.**** from DEL to CDG and return on **.**.**** from ZRH to DEL. Sir, we have been stopped by Airindia executive at boarding counter ...
Dec 29, 2023 by JITENDRA VERMA
Refund is not provided by Indigo Airlines in medical emergency (Indigo Airlines) 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 customer care stating that due ...
Feb 20, 2024 by Shoaib Ahmad
Denied boarding by airline (British Airways) Closed
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 parents hold valid Irish resid...
Jan 21, 2024 by Sumeet Arora
Flight cancelled refund not received yet (Yatra) Closed
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 airline processes the refund, they...
Jan 11, 2024 by Megha Pradeep
Not getting refund of my rejected flight booking from easemytrip (Easemytrip) Closed
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 got failed but the amount was d...
Jan 07, 2024 by Manoj Kumar Giri
Refund not received (Air india) Closed
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. ...
Jan 02, 2024 by Dhruvkumar Patel
Request for refund for Flight Booking ID with PNR (Air India Express Ltd) 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**** with Booking Date: **th Dec ***...
Jan 01, 2024 by Shashwathi S
Travelling baggage has been damaged (Indigo Air lines) 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 ** mins. After inquiring the st...
Dec 30, 2023 by Sumit Ranjan Maiti
Flight cancellation refund issue (Yatra Com) Closed
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 back....
Dec 15, 2023 by Harish Selvam
Refund not processed by Cleartrip inspite of policy (Cleartrip com) Closed
I was supposed to get refund from cleartrip.com, inspite of airline agency saying we are fully eligible for refund. ...
Nov 30, 2023 by Deena Reena Sequeira
Not refunding my amount which the airline has refunded (Cleartrip) Closed
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. Now the cleartrip team mention...
Nov 07, 2023 by Pratichi M
NAME CHANGE ISSUE (Indigo Airline ) 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 **/**/**** they say it's too late...
Oct 22, 2023 by Ruby
Money deducted but booking failed (Make my trip) 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 gateway redirected me to MakeMyTrip...
Oct 03, 2023 by Sagar Punjani
AirAsia International flight got rescheduled twice and the latest rescheduled date is not feasible f (AirAsia) Closed
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 does not have customer support ...
Sep 20, 2023 by Kenith Aiyappa
Air India Flight Ticket Extention From ChennaiMAA To Dubai DXBPenalty Charges Is Taken Which is Ille (Air India Airlines) Closed
Air India Flight Ticket Extention From Chennai-MAA To Dubai DXB---Penalty Charges Is Taken Which is Illegal, I Convert the Ticket On **Th Itself My Ticket is On **Th Evening Only (Totally I Paid Amount Of -**,***Rs...for Extention the Ticket F...
Aug 20, 2023 by Mohamed Kasim
Airlines scam to take extra money (malaysian airlines) Closed
I have booked a round trip from Bangalore to Penang which had layover in Kuala lampur. In Kuala lampur, i missed connecting flight as immigration officer took longer time to allow me inside. I asked Malaysian airlines to offer me alternative fl...
Jul 21, 2023 by Raghavendra Prasad Kallur Gopalaswamy
Flight cancelled and refund not received (Flip Kart Com) Closed
Flynas airticket from Delhi to Jeddah booked via flipkart.com with booking ID ************ and PNR - YEMHSA dtd **-**-** for Rs*****. The flight was cancelled by Flynas Airlines, and a full refund was initiated on **-june-** to flipkart.com, bu...
Jun 24, 2023 by BHARATHKUMAR BAVA JAYARAJ
Airline not issuing refund (Lufthansa Airlines) Closed
I had booked a fully refundable flight ticket with Lufthansa airlines on their website on ** June, ****. I wanted to cancel the ticket. However, the booking has no cancellation option. Therefore, I submitted manual cancellation request on the a...
Jun 24, 2023 by Pravin Ashok Sarode
Payment got deducted but tickets were not booked (Yatra.com) Closed
I was booking a flight ticket through yatra.com as a guest user. During payment, amount got deducted and tickets were not booked. I talked with yatra's customer service and they are denying my payment and told me that any ammount is not...
Jun 19, 2023 by Tushar Kumar Sinha
Check In Baggage Delay (Air india) Closed
We too AI*** from Cochin to Mumbai on June **, **** . I paid excess baggage of rupees *,*** and unfortunately the baggage was delayed at Mumbai and had to wait an hour after speaking with baggage services. My e ticket number is ***-AI-******. ...
Jun 13, 2023 by Prabha Ananthnarayan
Refund of ticket price pnr no awdq6m (Indigo Airlines) Closed
I work as a Regional Manager...
Jun 06, 2023 by Parijath Dash
"I was unable to get in touch with anyone in Byjus nor with my counselor regarding my problem for 3 months. But Voxya team helped me solve my issue very soon. Thank you!"
Mamta D
Complaint filed against: Byju's