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
Not able to deliver services which was promised (Opulentus The Visa Company ) Open
I have started the process with opulentus as they promised me an express entry visa to Canada. I started the process in September **** and paid the sum of around **,***. I have been assured by one method or another they will surely get me my vi...
Mar 13, 2023 by Archana Tiwari
My Air ticket money deducted and refund is not given (varafi.com) Open
Dear Sir, On **th December **** I have booked two tickets from Varafi for Raipur to Kolkata after completion of all steps and money deducted the booking was aborted and replied by mail that your booking is aborted the same was happened twice...
Mar 13, 2023 by TUSHAR B KULKARNI
International Flight Booked on IXIGO Cancelled by Airlines Refund Not Issued (Ixigo) Open
Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing this complaint letter to raise my concern about the refund for my flight ticket booked through IXIGO. I had booked a flight ticket from Mauritius to Cape Town on South African Airlines, scheduled on **th February...
Mar 10, 2023 by Sainath Pai
Refund expected on reschedule of flight (Make My Trip) Open
I had taken the MMT date change option which enabled me to reschedule the flight. After rescheduling, I was entitled to a refund of **** Rs (due to the fare difference)but now I have not received my refund amount yet. I had mailed mmt regarding...
Mar 04, 2023 by Shivanshu Srivastava
Varafi fraud PNR and non refund (Varafi com) Open
Booked Indigo airlines ticket for two from Rajkot to Lucknow on **th Dec for **th Feb. Varafi.com generated tickets with fake PNR and canceled last minute the booking just before check-in was to open. Came to know from Indigo the tickets were f...
Mar 02, 2023 by Prateek Kumar
Cancellation done without confirming with around 80 cancellation fees (Cleartrip) Open
I was informed that flight has been delayed. So I applied for refund citing this reason in the application. I was expecting full refund as flight was delayed by airlines end. There was no delay from the airlines and Cleartrip didn't even confir...
Feb 28, 2023 by Atul Singh
Further delay by spice jet (Spice Jet Airlines) Open
Spice jet flight got delayed * times on the same day for the same flight. **.**pm flight is now rescheduled to next day **.** am. after **.**am it got rescheduled again to **.** am. no water no service from spice jet staff the staff was also n...
Feb 27, 2023 by Aadesh Sheth
Refund Issues (Clear Trip) Open
Details of your booking Trip ID ************ Booking summary Bangalore → New Delhi * Feb, * travellers Booking amount Rs. *,*** Rs. *,*** by UPI Phonepe Still Refund Not coming, customer care say we are not receiving u r m...
Feb 26, 2023 by Ramachandra N
REFUND ON MY PNR (IndiGo 294) Open
Date- **th Feb, ****. Time - *:**-*:**pm. I had to board a *:**am flight Mum-Indore. The check-in of flight closes * hour prior and i was at the airport * hours prior but due to a long queue, i could make it at the desk at *:**-**am only. ...
Feb 26, 2023 by Tanvi Manoj Jain
Booking not confirmed but amount got debited (Agoda) Open
I booked a hotel from the Agoda app. After I made the payment my account got debited but the transaction showed was failed and my booking has not been confirmed....
Feb 22, 2023 by Dhruv Patwari
Spicejet flight delayed more than 3 hours compensation (Spicejet Air Line) Open
Hello Sir/Ma'am, This email is directed to convey the amount of discomfort my partner and I had to face at the airport while we were trying to check in for flight SG-**** on Feb *rd ****. *. Both of us were carrying a laptop bag and a han...
Feb 22, 2023 by Sankalp Shukla
Full Refund of Flight Tickets (Ease my trip com) Open
BIG CHEAT BY EaseMyTrip(EMT) I booked a ticket via Booking ID - EMT********* for Mumbai to Goa for Feb **, ****, and paid the amount, after payment, I found that the Ticket was booked for March **, ****, due to a technical glitch on the EMT we...
Feb 22, 2023 by ASHISH KUMAR
No response to Refund Request (Air india) Open
I had booked * tickets one for me and one for my mother who was accompaning me to the destination. On the travel day we had done the web check-in and reached the airport where we were denied to issue the actual boarding pass in exchange of the...
Feb 14, 2023 by Prerana Mahapatra
Refund not recieved (Ethiad Airways) Open
Respected Sir Madam I Am Harshil Patel i have booked my flight from easemytrip com for Mumbai toDublin for******** on the day of my flight when i show at the airport Etihad authority told me that yourticket has been cancelled automatically by t...
Feb 06, 2023 by HARSHIL AMIT KUMAR PATEL
Refund not credited (Air India Ease My Trip) Open
Hello, I Had Planned A Trip From CCU-BOM And BOM-CCU Via Air India Through EMT For The Month Of January **** Which Did Not Eventually Happen Due To Third Wave Of COVID-**. So I Had Contacted Air India And They Had Cancelled My Trip By Keeping ...
Feb 06, 2023 by Arindam Ghosh
HappyEasyGo not refunding for 9 months (Happyeasygo) Open
On April **, ****, I had purchased a ticket from Patna to Bangalore. I saw an error in the passenger name after making the reservation, so I immediately called Indigo Airlines to cancel. Indigo said that the refund was processed immediately. ...
Jan 30, 2023 by Kumar Sameer Ranjan
My new baggage was damaged completely by Spicejet (SpiceJet airlines) Open
While my travel from Jeddah to Calicut on **/**/****, I had checked in my new baggage from Jeddah through Spicejet and once it arrived in Calicut, I found my baggage was damaged completely. A part of my zip locker was missing, TSA locks damaged...
Jan 29, 2023 by Fuaad Edayatu
Refund not given from 7 months (Travolook (Www.travolook.in)) Open
Hi team, i am filing this compliant against TRAVOLOOK has they have failed to refund by booking amount since JUNE ****. Every time i call their support they tell it will be refunded in * to * working days but from jun **** this day has not come...
Jan 28, 2023 by Manjunath L
Refund of airline ticket (Easemytrip and ethiad airways) Open
I have booked my flight from Mumbai to Doblin through easemytrip. My flight ticket got canceled by Etihad and a refund has been issued to me for my flight ticket booked by easemytrip on my behalf. Please credit my account with a refund of my ti...
Jan 25, 2023 by HARSHIL AMIT KUMAR PATEL
Flight ticket not showing up in airline site (Varafi com) Open
I booked flight from Bangalore to Patna for *th Feb ****. Post payment through credit card i recieved confirmation from Varafi.com that my ticket is booked. However when i use the same PNR on Indigo site it does not show up. I called Indigo air...
Jan 25, 2023 by Pritesh Vakharia
Refund fraud (Easemytrip) Closed
I had booked a flight to Canada from India through Easemytrip. The trip was initially planned on April **, ****. Due to Covid the filghts were cancelled and I have been trying for a refund till today. Though other online portals have issued ref...
May 17, 2021 by Yashwanth Lakshmanan Chockalingam
No refund for (Easemytrip) Closed
It has been more than * weeks; EMT staff is fooling me for the refund of EMT******** by giving me false refund dates and transaction IDs. I have many such mails as evidence. Everyday they change the refund date and transaction ID. Zeeshan Zafar...
May 12, 2021 by Hemant Rai
Air India Refund Request for Failed Transaction (Air India) Closed
I have tried to book a flight from Delhi(India) to New York (US) by using a mobile app of Air India on *nd May ****, for this booking I have used net banking with axis bank as payment method. Two times, money is deducted but the ticket is not c...
May 11, 2021 by Khemanshu Rao
Airline Cancelled Flight Refund (Go Air Airlines and MakeMyTrip) Closed
Booked Go Air flight ticket (Booking Reference: GYD**Q) via MakeMyTrip (Booking ID: NF**************) on **-May-**** departing from IXE at **.** to DEL, arrival time **.**. The airline has cancelled the flight and not responding to emails or c...
May 10, 2021 by Saurabh Upadhya
Have not got the Refund from Travolook (Travolook) Closed
I tried booking the domestic flight ticket from travolook with reference ID REF********* on *st May,**** but after few mins I got the email back from company that booking has been cancelled due to fare expiration. Then immediately I also got th...
May 06, 2021 by Anjali Gupta
Paid twice for same booking (Agoda) Closed
I made a booking at Swissotel Al-Murooj Dubai. Upon checking in I learnt that Agoda haven't paid the property and I had to pay the property for my stay. Upon contacting Agoda they are claiming they booked it via a third party supplier and hence...
May 02, 2021 by Abhilash Pattanaik
Money not refunded for repayment of flight ticket by Travolook in (WING IN TRAVEL ADVISORY PRIVATE LIMITED ) Closed
I did payment for booking of return flight ticket on *th april, ****, from lucknow to delhi through travolook.in. Got call and mail with a link for repayment of flight ticket Rs **** due to failure to book ticket from their side and assurance...
Apr 21, 2021 by Dr. Rani Manisha
Refund not processed even after a month has passed (Travolook Www Travolook In) Closed
The company cancelled my booking saying the fares are increased so the refund has to be processed, I agreed for the same incident happened on **th March, till date no amount has been refunded to my account....
Apr 19, 2021 by Ichchhansh jetley
Travolook Refund not received (Travolook) Closed
I booked a flight ticket from Vishakapatnam to Bengaluru and after the booking is finished in a few minutes I received another email saying the booking is cancelled due to fare expiration. This is totally fraud. I tried contacting the customer ...
Apr 17, 2021 by Vinod
REFUND NOT ISSUED (Happyeasygo) Closed
I had booked tickets from Spicejet Airlines through this agency- HAPPYEASYGO in ****. Due to the pandemic the airlines provided their customers with a CREDIT SHELL balance for all the cancelled flights. To utilize this credit shell, I cannot di...
Apr 14, 2021 by Mrunmayee Palsule
Travolook extending refund date again and again (Travolook) Closed
Your Booking is Cancelled with travolook.in :REF********* Your booking is Cancelled due to fare expiration. Please contact our customer support at ****-***-**** or send us an email at support@travolook.in and one of our travel expert will be ...
Apr 14, 2021 by Prajwal Guragai
Air India express Refund not received (Air India Express Ltd) Closed
Hello Team, I have not received my complete refund for the flight NRIFIF that got cancelled as of **nd Feb. Around **th Feb, I had put request with Customer support to cancel the Air India Express flight and it's been over * months. ...
Apr 13, 2021 by Santosh Gadhave
Refund not received for a cancelled flight ticket (Easemytrip.com) Closed
Due to ongoing COVID circumstances, my flight was cancelled by Airlines with an option for a complete refund. Upon cancelling the flight, the EaseMyTrip team has not provided me with a refund since January-**.On over follow-up calls/emails, the...
Apr 13, 2021 by Shubham Gupta
Air India Refund of cancellation of my ticket (AirIndia Airlines) Closed
We booked a flight from Delihi to San Francisco (SFO) on *th July and cancelled on same day for some personal reasons.The Departure date of flight was **th of July *:**AM from DELIHI and flight number was AI***. we called air India custome...
Apr 12, 2021 by Ramesh Babu Damarla
Cheating with Customer (Yatra Air india) Closed
I have booked Air Ticket from Varanasi to Mumbai , travel date **-may-****. Total booking amount was Rs. ****. Airlines has refunded full amount but they have plan to refund only Rs. ****. Below is the more detail about the ticket Price: Tot...
Apr 11, 2021 by Arvind Yadav
Air ticket refund not received (Air India) Closed
I have purchased Ticket in March **** for me and family. Due to covid ** lockdown all the flights are cancelled we are unable to travel . I have requested Air India to cancel our ticket and refund. January * the I got a confirmation that our ti...
Apr 10, 2021 by Ramakrishna Prakash
Not refunded the booking amount (travellook in) Closed
Hello sir, i have booked delhi to srinagar flight ticket on **/**/**** @****/- but ticket was not booked due to reason shows that price expiration. But this may be propr fraud company that everyone trap in their price expiration. kindly initiat...
Apr 09, 2021 by Bhupender
Refund not initiated even after a year (Goibibo) Closed
Booked a flight from Delhi to Frankfurt but the flight got cancelled due to Vivid travel restrictions. After SC's order to refund, the company told me to wait for *** days withing which the refund would be processed. Now when I want to contact ...
Apr 08, 2021 by Ambuj Kumar
Refund for airline ticketair (Air India Make My Trip ) Closed
Travel was scheduled fron newark to mumbai on **th march which is got cancelled due to covid-**, have been asking for refund but no response...
Apr 08, 2021 by Sahid makdum allauddin qureshi
Ticket Refund from travel agency (Travollook) Closed
After I booked the ticket, they put the status in processing. After ** minutes I got call from there agent that fare has been increased. They have cancelled the ticket. They revert with cancellation e-mail but amount is still not received. Boo...
Apr 08, 2021 by ROHIT
"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