[RMN]

My parents Air India flight from Sydney to Kochi that transited through Delhi and Mumbai had one of its connections cancelled. Instead of automatically assigning a new flight, they had me call customer support and manually book (at no cost) a new connection. Took around 1.5 hrs of customer support call.

[manub22]

+ AllianceAir... I had a very bitter experience with both of these airlines.

I had a connecting flight from Hyderabad to Singapore (SGP) via Chennai.

Initially, the AllianceAir flight from Hyderabad to Chennai was delayed by a few minutes, and then it kept getting delayed three more times by a few minutes each. We weren't too worried because we had a long layover in Chennai before our flight to SGP. However, I was concerned that if the flight got delayed further or cancelled, we would miss our connection to SGP. Eventually, we reached Chennai airport after some delay.

At Chennai immigration, we encountered a major issue: the AirIndiaExpress plane to SGP had not arrived due to a technical problem, and they were arranging another plane, which would take an hour. Hour after hour, the delay continued, stretching into 4-5 hours. They asked all the passengers to wait in the waiting hall, and the situation became more tense. The airline representative was not providing clear information about the situation or the expected arrival time of the replacement plane. As the delay persisted, the passengers became increasingly frustrated and confronted the representative. After much questioning, we learned that the flight would be delayed by another ~8 hours and that we would need to stay overnight, with the flight departing early the next morning. They eventually provided food packets for dinner and a breakfast buffet for the next day.

Sleeping in the waiting area was very uncomfortable as there were no beds, only chairs, but we managed to get through the night. The next morning, we were still skeptical, but the flight finally arrived, and we boarded the plane.

This ordeal caused a significant delay, we were supposed to arrive Singapore by morning itself, but we reached by evening, and wasted an entire day of our trip to Singapore.

I will never book Air India Express or Alliance Air flights again in my life!

[Gamemaztr]

Originally Posted by richie4u

I for one faced the brunt very recently. I booked a return family trip on Air India Express for 4 of us which includes 2-wheel chair assisted senior citizen from Goa to Guwahati and back on 18th May-24th May. Less than a few hours prior to the flight on 18th May I get the following mails from Air India Express:

This is outright ridiculous. I suggest that you file a complaint with the AirSewa Portal https://airsewa.gov.in/grievance/grievance-redressal.

So far I have heard that the portal is efficacious, but I have not experienced it. However, as a part of complaint resolution, you may be compensated by the airline.

While you may feel that compensation is not required, big corporations only change when they are compelled by a statutory body to compensate for their wrong. Till then, they feel that an automated apology or a voucher of some 100-200 bucks would set all things right. Every paying passenger deserves to enjoy their expected level of service from the company.

Maybe, a small effort from your end would turn out to be a boon for others.

Do read this attached Passenger Charter and check if you are eligible for some remedy from AIX.

[furyrider]

I've booked Air India Express from Varanasi to Hyderabad for my parents along with 2 other elders from my family. The journey was scheduled for 08-May-2024. This was a planned trip, and tickets were booked well in advance (booked towards the end of January this year). We booked on this flight because this was the first available flight for Hyderabad that day. First, the flight was preponed by a couple of hours, which although annoying was okay, and just when my parents were about to get into the cab at 3 AM in the morning, my father received an automated phone call that the flight was cancelled due to operational issues.

My father immediately called me to inform about the cancellation. The moment I saw my phone ringing at 3 in the morning, anxiety kicked in. I mean no one would expect a call from family at that time unless it is an emergency. My father clearly angry and annoyed informed me about the cancellation. I frantically opened my laptop and searched for next available flight. I ended up booking Indigo for them at 2x the price. To top it all off, I had to bear the "convenience fee" for the inconvenience caused to my family. Needless to say, Air India Express is off of our flying list for the foreseeable future.

[richie4u]

Originally Posted by Gamemaztr

This is outright ridiculous. I suggest that you file a complaint with the AirSewa Portal https://airsewa.gov.in/grievance/grievance-redressal.
So far I have heard that the portal is efficacious, but I have not experienced it. However, as a part of complaint resolution, you may be compensated by the airline.

For all the hours of my life I wasted at the Guwahati airport I searched for ways to remove my frustration and I did find the website.

I thought this would be the best way to get back at the mediocre service Air India Express provided us and I sent a detailed grievance mail via the portal. The reply I get is as follows:

Hi, Hope you are doing well. We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. Please be informed the flight has been cancelled due to operational reasons. At Air India Express, we are committed to providing the best service possible and our passenger's safety and comfort are our top priorities. We understand how frustrating and disruptive flight delays can be and we understand the impact that such situations can have on our passengers' plans. Regrettably, there are times when circumstances beyond our control lead to unforeseen delays and cancellations. We would like to inform you that we will be assisting you via case number 0xxxxxx and this request will be closed from our end. Additionally, we recommend you contact us through our support channels through our website at https://www.airindiaexpress.com/home for any future assistance. Our dedicated support team is ready to assist you with any inquiries or concerns you may have, ensuring a smoother and more enjoyable travel experience in the future. With regards, Shakti Sadhu Office of Nodal Officer Air India Express
27-May-2024 2:52 PM

The mails are redirected to the customer care team at AIX again. Gave me a sense of automobile brands where no matter what you complaint about it ultimately goes back to the dealer.

Anyways I am not letting off Air India Express this easily, that is for sure. Brands have taken todays' consumers for a ride far too long. Looks like the sentiments towards them are getting sour day-by-day as flights continue to get cancelled.

[Gamemaztr]

Originally Posted by richie4u

For all the hours of my life I wasted at the Guwahati airport I searched for ways to remove my frustration and I did find the website.

I thought this would be the best way to get back at the mediocre service Air India Express provided us and I sent a detailed grievance mail via the portal. The reply I get is as follows:

This is worse than what I expected. As for the Passenger Charter, it appears that your case falls under Scenario 2 of the Flight Cancellation Chapter. You need to highlight it and reopen the case on AirSewa. Further, did you try reaching out to the public relations officer of the Ministry of Civil Aviation? I suppose it could help.

AIX's attitude seems to be overly casual qua the difficulty faced by the passengers. It appears they have nothing under control. This way, I do not see how the turnaround of the Air India brand is going to take place as suggested.

If I remember correctly, Air India Express was a profitable entity with reasonable service before the TATA takeover and its merger with Air Asia India. Is it the merger with Air Asia India that is making matters bad at AIX? If so, this is definitely the Air India International-Indian Airlines merger repeat which ended (as everyone has witnessed) very badly for the Government of India.

Everyone facing similar difficulties with AIX need to aggressively pursue this issue with the Civil Aviation Ministry and the DGCA. Although very sorry for the difficulties faced by you all, it has become quite an important lesson to miss for the ones intending to fly out.

[furyrider]

Originally Posted by richie4u

The reply I get is as follows:

I believe they are taking advantage of the loophole in the system. I found this on FAQs posted on the National Consumer Helpline website.

The airline will have no obligation to pay "compensation" if delay or cancellation happens due to circumstances beyond the control of the airline. These include political instability, natural disaster, riots, floods, government regulations, meteorological conditions, security risks and so on.

The FAQs can be found at: https://consumerhelpline.gov.in/faq-...p?fid=Airlines

[Turbohead]

Originally Posted by furyrider

I believe they are taking advantage of the loophole in the system. I found this on FAQs posted on the National Consumer Helpline website.



The FAQs can be found at: https://consumerhelpline.gov.in/faq-...p?fid=Airlines

Can this be challenged in court?

This is no small thing! I can imagine people who need advanced treatment, attend important events get affected by such atrocious service! They shouldn't get away with this!

This makes me wanna believe that Air India Express support team has been trained by Tata Motors ASS support department.

[richie4u]

Originally Posted by furyrider

I believe they are taking advantage of the loophole in the system. I found this on FAQs posted on the National Consumer Helpline website.

I would absolutely agree with Air India Express if it was
"political instability, natural disaster, riots, floods, government regulations, meteorological conditions, security risks"

But what made my blood boil is- It's neither of the above! The actual reason for this entire fiasco has two parts-

1) Majority of the cabin crew went on a flash strike somewhere in the beginning of May due to their internal issues.

2) They implemented some software which still cannot roster flights and crew in sync and hence even though the crew is physically present -they are being shown as not available so the flights cannot take off due to "no cabin crew"

Both the above reasons are their operational negligence and not a matter of national security or geo warming related climate change. Air India Express is just calling their incapability as "Operational Reasons" and conveniently ignoring the immediate needs of the travellers.

You know what makes it worse? Despite certain flights having the trend of being cancelled almost for a week now-they are still taking bookings and then cancelling last minute The Audacity!

[vredesbyrd]

If this keeps going on, then Indigo will be the only one left standing in the market and they will pull a Fortuner, making the lives of customers financially miserable.

Flying with Indigo is horrible but at least they are reliable.

At this point, AI Express should just close shop and let Vistara do the job.

[VaibhaoT]

Originally Posted by richie4u

Call this a rant or call it a complaint, I would like to caution our fellow members and the readers of the impending mess that Air India Express is causing in flight travel these days!

Really sorry for the trouble you had to go through. I can only imagine your frustration level. While I am not sure if it will help, but please consider filing a complaint with DGCA. Especially GAU airport staff behavior is ridiculous.

IMHO, our airline industry growth doesn't match with the customer service maturity. Believe me, Indigo is no different when it comes to handling difficult situation. I personally went through a 6-7 hours flight delay situation where staff behavior was extremally rude. They were behaving like, "We have given you refreshments, now keep quite and seat down. Aircraft will fly whenever it can". These days I am avoiding Indigo as much as possible as personal preference.

Customers are the real victim here. And future duopoly of Indigo-Tata group is only going to make matter worse. As long as there are limited options, we will be suffering like this only.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by richie4u

Call this a rant or call it a complaint, I would like to caution our fellow members and the readers of the impending mess that Air India Express is causing in flight travel these days!

Sad state of affairs.

My last trip on Air India Express was back in 2006. I was using them as a connection between Bombay and Kochi. The rates were competitive, service was great, the short haul flight included food in the cost of the ticket. I could not have asked for more.

These domestic runs between Bombay and Kochi was done for crew refreshment and for sending the plane to Kochi for the 'Gelf' runs. They ran <50% occupied as few knew about it back then. I remember boarding the plane from the International Terminal, as the plane arrived from a Middle East sector.

[ZenMaster]

I suggest everyone to file a complaint with the Consumer court. They take up matters very quickly.

[anchit97]

What a coincidence! I have not taken a flight for 4 years and have a flight scheduled in ajune. Now, this morning I read this thread. Lo and behold, my Air India Express leg of the trip has been cancelled just now. Even though the connecting flight is also Air India, they are offering a 18 hours later flight without consideration of the connecting flight. Sigh!

[Ltinsane]

Air India express is like the supporting character for Air India, always has been. I just had hoped that after Tata acquired Air India and started to merge Vistara, Air Asia India, that Air India express would be merged too. I was disappointed to know that it won't happen, while the Vistara and Air India will merge to form the bigger and hopefully better Air India; Air India Express had merged with Air Asia India retaining the poor quality of service of the former and Barebone structure of the later.