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
Airline ticket money deducted but ticket was not booked awaiting refund (Travolook) Open
On the *th of July I had booked a ticket from ahamadabad to Pune money got deducted but did not get the confirmation when I send mail got a call that this happened because there was issue with the airline company. Was promised refund in *-* day...
Aug 31, 2021 by Snehal dudhekar
Booking amount not Refunded (https www travolook in ) Open
I booked a ticket today from this website https://www.travolook.in/ (Wing In Travel) today at *:** PM. After booking I didn't receive my Confirmation email or message from the Airline and I called their customer care number and they told me tha...
Aug 29, 2021 by KHAN
Refund on cancellation not recieved (Travolook in) Open
I had book a Flight from Mumbai to Jammu on *th June **** after the booking within ** mins the booking was cancelled saying it was an operation issue and it was told to me the refund on cancelation will be made within *-** days to my bank accou...
Aug 28, 2021 by Smit Thakur
Airline refund (Cleartrip) Open
Indigo refunded the amount but cleartrip has not. They mailed me ** days ago they have initiated but dont give, customer care keeps delaying ...
Aug 28, 2021 by Dhruv
Travolook Refund not received (Travolook) Open
Booking is Cancelled due to fare expiration by travolook. But the refund is not received yet. Its *months now. REF********* Travolook.in...
Aug 28, 2021 by Anurag
The payment is deducted from Bank Account but haven t received any confirmation from Portal or Indig (Travolook) Open
I have booked a flight from Hyderabad to Jaipur on **st August via Travolook. I paid via google pay and the amount is deducted from the account but have not received any confirmation regarding the booking being confirmed and neither they are re...
Aug 27, 2021 by Bhavika Agarwal
Refund for my online flight ticket (Travolook) Open
I had booked Vistara flight UK *** on **th August from Mumbai to delhi scheduled to depart on **th August. Reference No. : REF********* After doing the payment, i got a mail from Travolook that my booking is cancelled and i will get the refund...
Aug 27, 2021 by Yashima Kewalramani
Money not refunded (Travolook in) Open
I've booked a flight on Travolook.in on Aug *th and immediately after the payment got confirmation, I got a call saying that the flight booking has been cancelled. They informed that the refund process will take up to **-** working days. Its be...
Aug 25, 2021 by Sarat Chandra Patibandla
Airline postponed Flight for 1 Day Ticket Cancelled (Indian Airlines) Open
Air India postponed their Flight for * Day which was not acceptable to us as our journey purpose was failed due to which we have cancelled the flight booking. Now how can Airline refuse to Refund the Airfare. This is our right to get the money...
Aug 24, 2021 by Niladri Dhar
Refund amount not received (Travo look) Open
REF********* I booked a flight ticket with travolook agency for my brother Manas ..at the very moment they cancelled the ticket saying some operational issues. its been past ** days neither I got any refund amount nor I am able to connect wit...
Aug 22, 2021 by Prasad
Amount not refunded by travolook site against airlines ticket booking (Travolook com) Open
I have booked airline ticket from travolook site on **june****. The ticket was not booked due to technical reasons but the amount got debited from my credit card. The reference number is REF********* booking date ** june**** in the name.of Dhan...
Aug 22, 2021 by Dhananjay kumar
I had to change the dates of my flight so as advised by Air India they helped me to book tickets for the new date and cancel the original ticket saying I will receive a refund within ** days. It has been * months and several follow up with Air ...
Aug 20, 2021 by Gulzar Ahmed
Incorrect refund for covid impacted travel (Air India) Open
Issue – Please refund balance of $**** which was incorrectly deducted as cancellation charges even though my travel was restricted due to covid. I was provided full credit shell of $****.** valid till Dec-**** but on refund received $****.** ...
Aug 19, 2021 by Pranav Bhatia
Not allowed to board after having all neccesary documets (Air India Airlines) Open
I was travelling with my wife and *-year-old daughter from Calicut to Dubai on August **. I reached the airport * hours ahead of schedule. At the end, I was prevented from boarding the AI flight by your staff on the ground that my visa was not ...
Aug 19, 2021 by Naeem Mahamood
Didn t allow me and family friend to board flight and took and didn t return money for excess luggag (Indigo) Open
I have reported to the indigo counter in RGI Airport around **-Aug-*****:** Am with My wife and daughter(** months) and Friend. At that moment only one groundcrew staff (Mohammed ) was issuing boarding passes to passengers and my turn was **th ...
Aug 19, 2021 by Mohammed Haneef
Money Not refunded (Travo look) Open
I have booked a flight ticket from there website but after some time they called back and informed that ticket was unable to process due to some technical reasons and money will be credited back in your account in *-** working days. Now its alm...
Aug 19, 2021 by Mohammad Zaid
Money deducted but no confirmation (Goibibo) Open
I paid for hotel booking on **th august my money was deducted but hotel booking was not confirmed Booking I’d HTLQX**XRP ...
Aug 18, 2021 by Arvindpal singh mann
Airline tickets cancellation from airline side but not get refund (Travolook) Open
I have been booked SpiceJet flight ticket through TRAVOLOOK site with reference no REF********* (PNR M**H*C) on ** Jun **** from Leh to Pune via Delhi. Same has been cancelled by Airline due to flight cancellations with full refund. As airlines...
Aug 17, 2021 by Mohite Balvant Shivaji
Money not refunded from travolook (Travolook Www Travolook In) Open
Hello Sir, I am sanjay from gujarat. * days ago I booked flight tickets from ahmedabad to chandigarh from Travelook.in and within *minutes of making the payment through UPI on their website I got a call from their representative stating that ...
Aug 17, 2021 by Solanki sanjay
Baggage Lost (Vistara Airlines) Open
I travelled by flight from Udaipur to Pune Via New Delhi on Monday *nd Aug., ****. We lost our cabin baggage in New Delhi from flight. We notified the cabin crew & Ground Staff immediately. We also complained to Vistara baggage service, New De...
Aug 16, 2021 by Arpan Bhatnagar
Unethical Practice (Indigo Airlines) Closed
The payment was made on indigo website for **** on feb *th but when i called them for the pnr details on **th feb they say they cant give the booking confirmation and say the amount will be refunded and forced me to book at a higher fare. when ...
Feb 24, 2020 by Praveen Manoharan
Non refund of cancel ticket amount (Goair) Closed
Flight Name : Go Air Flight G*-****(New Delhi to Mumbai) Date & Time of Journey : ** Dec ****, **:** PM PNR : E*PW*Q GoAir cancelled the flight due to unknown reason. On ** Dec ****, it sends an email stating that balance due Rs. **** will ...
Feb 23, 2020 by Sankar Bera
Flight ticket not confirmed and amount received to Yatra (Yatra) Closed
I had booked round trip flight tickets via Yatra gateway and the amount was debited and received by Yatra but there was no booking confirmation and within * mins the flight fare raised by **** for the same flight and I had to face loss due to Y...
Feb 22, 2020 by Adv. Bhakti Ashok Talathi
Refund amount out of air ticket cancellation not credited to bank account (Yatra Online Private Limited) Closed
Air ticket booking date: ** Jan., **** Cancellation date: ** Feb., **** Date of (proposed) travel: ** Feb., **** PNR no.: Z*B*N Carrier: Air India Yatra reference no.: ************ Price of air ticket: Rs. *,*** Was entitled a refund of ...
Feb 20, 2020 by Avishek Chandra
Refund not credited (Ease my trip) Closed
I have booked my ticket from patna to hyderabad for **th jan ****, via emt but my flight (go air) got cancelled. The account through which i paid the money was closed at the time of cancellation so i called emt and told the matter they asked me...
Feb 04, 2020 by KUMAR ABHISHEK
Service deficiency issue (Air India Airlines) Closed
Hello Team, On ** January i was travelled from *:**pm Frankfurt to delhi and my seat number **A on flight number AI ***. the seat its some problem from the starting of the flight, there is some problem so entertainment screen is not workin...
Jan 28, 2020 by Mohit Garg
Headphones lost from Indigo MHB Delhi Terminal 2 (Indigo) Closed
I missed my headphones in indigo flight which was recovered by Indigo employees at Indigo MHB Delhi terminal t*. The headphones was stolen/lost from MHB according to the indigo employees. This is a huge security flaw at the airport. They offer...
Jan 16, 2020 by Abhishek Kabra
Refund not received (Air India Airlines) Closed
I traveled to India from USA and had a return fight on *th November ****, due to some personal emergency had to cancel out the flight and was promised a refund of approximate $***. Since this ticket was booked through Cheapoair(third party), Ai...
Jan 08, 2020 by Atisht Saxena
Missed flight because of airline (AirAsia) Closed
PNR - RUI*PC, Rs ****, * Travelers PNR - Y*SMGG, Rs ****, * Travelers (Senior Citizens) AirAsia flight I*-**** at *:** PM on **-Dec, Sat. Message received from AirAsia on **-Dec at **:** AM stating flight has been rescheduled to * PM on the s...
Jan 06, 2020 by Aurobindo Dutta
Damaged checkin baggage jn Air india flight (Air India Airlines) Closed
With reference to file - DELAI*****, I have received my checkin baggage on **nd Aug **** in completely damaged condition. I searched online how to fill the claim but I haven't received any option. The customer service from Air India advised to ...
Jan 04, 2020 by Mahesh Das
Non Refund of Air Ticket cancelled (Air India) Closed
Air India tickets Booking reference No. Y***D cancelled on **.**.** but refund not credited till date I.e.**.**.****....
Jan 04, 2020 by Ram Dutta
Typo and Baggage (Easemytrip.com) Closed
There was a typo in my daughter's ticket and emirates offering free baggage for another ** kg. I tried to reach the staff through calls and emails but no one is responding to my queries. I called Emirates they confirmed they do not charge for t...
Dec 27, 2019 by Sridhar Anne
Non payment of refund (Indigo Airlines 6E) Closed
Booked international flights tickets on **.**.** with indigo website . Payment was done through paytm . Among of Rs **,*** got deducted from Paytm wallet. Indigo initially denied the payment made but after numerous calls , tweets and consume...
Nov 23, 2019 by Avi
PayTM and Jet Airways Refund not processed (PayTM and Jet Airways) Closed
I have booked a ticket through PayTm. JetAirways flights are cancelled and refunds are still not processed by PayTm (travel agent). When contacted Jetairways they asked to contact Paytm. When contact Paytm they are saying Jetairways has not c...
Nov 19, 2019 by Dinesh Muninathan
Flight refund not received (Jet Airways) Closed
I had booked a flight on Makemytrip- Jet Airways flight to and back from Amsterdam in April for the dates in May. Booking ID: NN************* but the refund has not yet been processed....
Nov 17, 2019 by Akanksha Gait
Flight delayed more than 2 hours (Indigo) Closed
My flight from Indore to Bangalore which was via Mumbai was re-scheduled via Delhi, *-* days before travel. Then, my flight from Indore to Delhi was delayed over two hours, because of which I missed my next flight from Delhi to Bangalore. On co...
Nov 10, 2019 by Ranjan Saxena
Refund on airlines (Indigo) Closed
Sir my flight from Hyderabad to Ahmedabad on *-**-****. And I had reached to airport before * hours . I went for luggage drop there it closes by *:**pm and I went their at *:**pm departure time is at *:**pm . The indigo persons haven't allowe...
Nov 10, 2019 by Sindu
Airline ticket cancellation (Indigo Airlines) Closed
I booked the ticket on the price of *****. after cancellation they refunded ***** according to rules. they should deduct ****. but they deducted ****...
Nov 06, 2019 by Shashi
Luggage not recieved (Indigo) Closed
Its been over ** hours since I filed a complaint but I havent recieved by luggage. I have important documents and electronics items in the luggage. Indigo is not responding anything and they refuse to give the location of the bag....
Nov 04, 2019 by Sharmad nachnolkar
REFUND FROM JET AIRWAYS (Jet Airways) Closed
In spite, the issuance of e-ticket refund recept no ************* and booking ref NRCVSS dated **th April **** from jet airways has not refunded our money so far. The date of the issue is Thursday **th Dec **** and the travel date is **th Apri...
Nov 01, 2019 by KRISHNAN RADHAKRISHNAN KRISHNAN
"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