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
REfund Not Recived (TRAVOLOOK.IN) Open
I had tried to book ticket from travolook on *st June **** Ref No : REF*********, Amt : Rs.****/- (Patna to Mumbai) and it was intentionally by cancelling the ticket after few minutes by saying there is a difference in fare and not refunding t...
Oct 03, 2022 by GUFRAN KHAN
Happy easy go didnt refund the amount ofIt has been long time I have continuously contacted them but (Happy Easy Go) Open
I had booked flight tickets to cochin. Due to personal emergency I had to cancel my tickets. When I asked Happy easy go to change my dates or cancel my ticket, they denied. After that I contacted airlines, they said booking is handled by "Happy...
Oct 02, 2022 by Jay Modi
no Refund amounz (Agoda and IndiGo ) Open
I booked a flight,and they cancelled the flight due to time changes ,but refund was not given,its been a month...
Sep 30, 2022 by Tejeswi godavari
Airline lost bag and gave no compensation (Air France) Open
I traveled on Air France on *th July **** from Paris to Mumbai. This was the second leg of my journey from USA to India. My bag never arrived in India. It has been almost * months. I have lodged a compliant with the airlines and tried to follow...
Sep 30, 2022 by Swati Pandit
Refund for rescheduled flight (GOFIRST AIRLINES ) Open
My GO FIRST flight, booking ref:((BBE**N) (**Feb'**), (G*-***) (BLR-JAI)) got rescheduled from *.** Am to *.** Am and will now depart on ( (**Feb'**), (G*-***) (BLR-JAI) (**:**-**:**)). I requested for refund as reaching late will not work fo...
Sep 23, 2022 by Shriya Kumari
Refund not issued (air asia airlines) Open
I have booked the flight tickets for me and my wife from Osaka to Bangkok on **th June **** through air asia. After * months on *th September **** my flight was cancelled by the airline. Now with just * month remaining in my trip all other flig...
Sep 22, 2022 by Abhishek Sharma
Refund not received (Spicejet) Open
I have been charged * times for a transaction while booking a flight from dharamshala to delhi on **-June at *:** for * passengers. I am being charged * times for same transaction once from axis bank net banking option and once from credit car...
Sep 17, 2022 by Abhishek
Automatically reallocated the cancelled flight which was unsuitable to us (Go First Airline) Open
GoFirst flight from Del to Mum cancelled one day before. Checked rebooking options on the website. Was not allowed to check or select a suitable flight and a new flight was automatically selected and rescheduled. Airline refused to issue a re...
Sep 17, 2022 by Priya Tolasariya
Duplicate transactions (Agoda Booking) Open
Well I had been charged * times for my same booking and now they are not giving me my refund. They are saying it’s not possible as per there policy....
Sep 17, 2022 by Avik sarkar
Complaint Regarding harassment at Airport and amount charged by SpiceJet (Spicejet Air Line) Open
I am writing this complaint with utmost displeasure to complain about the harassment and extremely costly experience at T* Airport Delhi during my SpiceJet flight with no assistance/remedial action by their executives at the airport. On **.**.*...
Sep 16, 2022 by Shefali Jain & Keshav Kishore
Travolook not ready to refund my money (Travolook) Open
My refund reference number is: REF********* My contact number: ********** I have booked a round trip from Jaipur to Pune on *th July. They called me within ** minutes and told me that the ticket is not confirmed and the money will be refunded...
Sep 14, 2022 by Harshavardhan Patil
Agoda Refund Issue (Agoda) Open
Hi Team, I have been planning my trip to Switzerland for which I had to apply the VISA. I have been looking to book a hotel which i can use for visa application. So, I have used agoda.com for that made some booking and canceled some as I was...
Sep 06, 2022 by Munfed
Airline Ticket Fraud (Travolook) Open
I booked airticket from https://www.travolook.in/; on July **nd **** for Kolkata-Pune; one way flight scheduled for Jul **th ****. Booking reference REF*********/details attached After the payment was made for Rs ****, they cancelled the tic...
Sep 05, 2022 by A Das
Ticket canceled without concent or confirmation (MYTRIP COM) Open
Dear Letisha, Thank you for finally calling from the Customer care supervisor USA after ** hours . You confirmed on the recorded line that you have heard the transcript that your agent made the cancellation without my confirmation You ha...
Aug 30, 2022 by Rajat HANDA
REFUND NOT PROVIDED (Happyeasygo) Open
My one way flight was cancelled by one of the airlines, so I had to cancel one way with full refund and the return flight with partial refund around * months back. Before cancelling the travel agency confirmed that it would be processed early. ...
Aug 30, 2022 by Mayank Gadodia
Air India refund (Air India) Open
This complaint is in reference to the flight bookings (Y**M* and Y**QC) PNR numbers- Y**M* (Kailas Bhivgade) / E-ticket number ************* Y**QC (Nalini Bhivgade) / E-ticket number ************* I (Ashiwini Bhivgade) booked these flight...
Aug 27, 2022 by Ashwini Bhivgade
Hotel Booking amount not refunded by MakeMyTrip (Makemytrip (india) Pvt. Ltd.) Open
I had made a hotel booking for my stay in Dubai for the period Jan *,**** to Jan *,****. The booking was done on MakeMyTrip on November *th, ****. We had also booked air tickets through MakeMyTrip (MMT) for travel from Chennai to Dubai via Colu...
Aug 26, 2022 by Sharon Angelene N
Flight booking refund (Travolook) Open
I have booked my flight tickets from Raipur to Banglore on **/**/**** ref I’d -********* through travolook.in The ticket got cancelled instantly after my money was deducted. And they had not refunded my money . I have chased them quite a lot...
Aug 25, 2022 by Sandeep Fotani
Travolook is not refunding amount from last 3 months Ticket cancelled by them (TRAVOLOOK.IN) Open
Ticket booked on *th July **** Reference ID - REF********* Cancelation Reason – Cancellation done by travolook , support executive called and said we are unable to complete your booking due to issue with vendor,(FYI- this all happened post ...
Aug 25, 2022 by Sandeep Das
Travolook Flight Ticket Refund (Travolook) Open
This is regarding the refund not received against the cancellation happened for the travel ticket (Ref #: REF*********). The booking and cancellation happens in the first week of Feb, however i haven’t received the refund yet. After contin...
Aug 24, 2022 by Harikumar S
NO REFUND IN 6 MONTHS (Yatra.com) Closed
I booked my flight ticket to Bangalore from Yatra.com in May. The flight got cancelled and i was told by the airline that i can take full refund from Yatra and so i emailed them regarding it. I even opted for full refund on yatra app and it sai...
Dec 07, 2020 by Mohd Suhail
Flight Refund (Easemytrip.com) Closed
I have done a reservation with EaseMyTrip and my flight ticket got canceled due to the COVID situation. The airlines through which I booked the ticket (American Airlines) promptly refunded the amount and it has been more than * months now and E...
Dec 03, 2020 by Phalguna Yadlapati
Can t rebook as per Protect PNR feature (Go Air Airlines) Closed
Hi, On August *th I have booked the flight for returning to India, because on their site it was show flight is available to travel, but two days before the travel they announced that the flight got cancelled and my pnr is protected and I can r...
Dec 01, 2020 by Sajesh KB
Refund not received (Yatra com) Closed
I booked domestic holiday package from Yatra.com and after * day I was informed there is no bus available to the destination. Then I cancelled the booking. Its been more than ** days since I have not received my refund. They are not receiving ...
Nov 19, 2020 by Aparna Sharma
AirIndia refund (AirIndia Airlines) Closed
I contacted customer care multiple times. They are not properly responding. they didnt respond properly in emails as well...
Nov 18, 2020 by Gokulraj shanmugam
FLIGHT TICKET REFUND (Air India Express) Closed
I pre-booked my family return ticket in **/**/**** to travel on annual holidays on */*/**** & */*/**** respectively between Doha & Kannur from Air india express office Doha. But due to corona issue flights were cancelled and ticket cancellation...
Nov 16, 2020 by MURALIDHARAN P C
Refund of Air fare from EMT (Easemytrip.com) Closed
I had rescheduled my AirAsia flight bearing PNR OUP*FS in April, **** for travel date on **rd November, ****. However, I never got the confirmation for the rescheduled flight. But AirAsia informed that it had already canceled the flight that I ...
Nov 11, 2020 by Prithvi Parekh
Refund of cancelled flight due to covid (Yatra Com) Closed
I had booked the indigo flight for travel in April from yatra agency, which I had to cancel it due lockdown in covid. I have also got to know from indigo customer care that my refund of Rs. ***** has been credited to yatra. Yatra people has als...
Nov 05, 2020 by Kriti satija
Airline Credit in Yatra not available for booking (Yatra) Closed
I had booked on an Indigo flight (FDZEUL) during the Covid period (for me and my wife)which got cancelled by the Airline. As per DGCA ruling and the airline commitment, the amount is to be available in the credit shell for rebooking. The Yat...
Oct 29, 2020 by Bibin Babu
Refund of Flight Tickets (Air india) Closed
I Have Book Two Way AirIndia Flight Tickets From Frankfurt To India For Me And A One Way Ticket For My Husband From India To Frankfurt On Travel*be Site. They Are Non Refundable Tickets. But Because Of Corona Lockdown The Flights Are Cancelled....
Oct 27, 2020 by Bindulatha Donadula
Froud ticket (Travolook) Closed
I had booked a ticket before one day from journey ticket status was progressing but day of journey at flight time I have not got any message from this site confirm or not I was standing just like a chootiya at airport I missed my flight ...
Oct 26, 2020 by Vipin Kumar
AIR INDIA REFUND (Air India) Closed
Dear sir , I made booking on air india web PNR no XX**X on xx march for a flight originating from Kolkata -chicago & back for xx july but due to covid all international flight cancelled . thus requested for refund .I have called custome...
Oct 22, 2020 by SHANKAR JYOTI DEB
AirIndia Refund (Air India) Closed
I had purchased eticket# ************* for Delhi-Paris for **-Apr-**. Due to COVID the flight was cancelled and when I checked with customer care they say the amount is refunded to me on **th June which has never reached to my account yet. They...
Oct 13, 2020 by Anjani Kumar
Air ticket not booked amount debited (Travolook in) Closed
Booking reference REF*********. On ** Oct ** I was booking air ticket from Lucknow to Hyderabad and paid Rs ****. But my ticket get cancelled automatically stating fare expiration and my amount has not been refunded till date. I am short of mon...
Oct 06, 2020 by Rohit Vig
Refund not processing from 3 months (Etihad Airways) Closed
I have cancelled ticket on **th July and as per your refund policy I was wait for ** days. Again trying to contact your customer care service they took *days to collect information about my case and said your refund intiated now(**th sept) and ...
Oct 05, 2020 by Bhautik Patel
Flight canceled but no refund from cleartrip (Cleartrip) Closed
I booked a flight ticket from Mumbai to Washington dc, due to the sudden pandemic situation, the flight got canceled by the airlines, and I still haven't got a refund from cleartrip....
Oct 03, 2020 by Nachal Ramasamy
Complete Refund Not Processed (Make My Trip) Closed
Hello. This is Varadaa Pundale. We have send many emails but no reply at all. We have approx **k still pending with MMT, which is a huge amount for us during this crisis situation. Pls help us get back this amount. Or get us in touch with the...
Oct 01, 2020 by Varadaa Pundale
Still not received Refund (Yatra Com) Closed
From ** july yatra processed my refund but still I didn't receive refund please look into Matter and Refund me now otherwise I ll take action against this fraud company. BOOKING REFERENCE NUMBER- ************ . I have not received the ful...
Oct 01, 2020 by Rupeshkumar harikesh pasi
E ticket no- ********** Passenger name- ashok panwar Flight no.- JTJ*E Date of travel- **/*/** Due to several covid patients are found near me so there is lockdown in our area m not allowed to travel at that moment....I had a conversation...
Oct 01, 2020 by Ashok panwar
Refund of cancelled flight due to COVID (Yatra.com) Closed
I have booked flight (Indigo) which was cancelled due to COVID through yatra. Indigo has return amount to yatra on **th august. they have not informed. i have contacted through mail and application of yatra. they are again and again closing the...
Oct 01, 2020 by Dheeraj Patel
"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