MISERABLE DAY WITH AIR INDIA
My daughter , her husband and two kids ( aged 2 and 5) were booked to fly to Singapore from Chennai on 22nd October,2017.
The flight was scheduled to take off at 11.30 a.m. from Chennai airport and they reported at the airport by 9.30 a.m and checked in.
Along with more than 230 passengers , they were waiting for the boarding call. The call did not come at the scheduled time. Then, they were told that the flight would take off at 12 noon, then at 1 p.m. and then at 3 p.m. After such anxious wait, they were asked to board the aircraft at around 4 p.m. They were relieved and got into the aircraft but the aircraft did not take off.
After sitting in the aircraft for one hour, the passengers were told that the flight was cancelled for the day as the pilot has already completed the stipulated hours of flying for the day and spare pilot was not available.
The visibly tired and exhausted passengers that included elderly persons, young kids and some foreigners, had no alternative other than getting back into the airport. They were wondering as to why they were asked to board at all when it was very well known that the pilot has completed the stipulated hours of flying and spare pilot was not available.
After getting back to the airport , they were told by some crew that the baggages can be left in the aircraft itself, since the same aircraft would take off the next day. Some other crew said that the baggages have to be taken out. The dispirited passengers had to wait for around two hours to get their baggages and they were told that the reason was that the workmen were not available.
Then, the passengers were told that the flight would take off next day at 9.30. a.m.
When the passengers reported the next day at 7.30 a.m., they thought they would be asked to board the flight at 9 a.m. The time came but there was no boarding call. Finally, they were asked to board the aircraft at 10 a.m. and the flight took off at 10.30. a.m.
The passengers were extremely frustrated and several sharp comments were made and some even shouted. But, how can one shout against the wall ? There were no senior managers to give responsible information and give confidence to the passengers.
Some junior staff simply stood and looked upon when the passengers were asking questions and conveying their annoyance.
Some of the comments that could be heard were sharp . Some found fault with the Prime Minister for not dissolving the Air India that would save valuable time of the passengers and crores of rupees of tax payer’s money.
When asked by a young lady as to why the Prime Minister should be blamed for the inefficiency of Air India and why not the Chairman and senior managers, the reply was that the Chairman and the senior managers would not care since their fat pay and perks would not be touched under any circumstance and their job well secured in this public sector undertaking.
Another sharp comment was that those in charge of managing Air India have no pride in the organization and that could be the root cause for the inefficiency in this loss making public sector organization.
N.S.Venkataraman more
The flight was scheduled to take off at 11.30 a.m. from Chennai airport and they reported at the airport by 9.30 a.m and checked in.
Along with more than 230 passengers , they were waiting for the boarding call. The call did not come at the scheduled time. Then, they were told that the flight would take off at 12 noon, then at 1 p.m. and then at 3 p.m. After such anxious wait, they were asked to board the aircraft at around 4 p.m. They were relieved and got into the aircraft but the aircraft did not take off.
After sitting in the aircraft for one hour, the passengers were told that the flight was cancelled for the day as the pilot has already completed the stipulated hours of flying for the day and spare pilot was not available.
The visibly tired and exhausted passengers that included elderly persons, young kids and some foreigners, had no alternative other than getting back into the airport. They were wondering as to why they were asked to board at all when it was very well known that the pilot has completed the stipulated hours of flying and spare pilot was not available.
After getting back to the airport , they were told by some crew that the baggages can be left in the aircraft itself, since the same aircraft would take off the next day. Some other crew said that the baggages have to be taken out. The dispirited passengers had to wait for around two hours to get their baggages and they were told that the reason was that the workmen were not available.
Then, the passengers were told that the flight would take off next day at 9.30. a.m.
When the passengers reported the next day at 7.30 a.m., they thought they would be asked to board the flight at 9 a.m. The time came but there was no boarding call. Finally, they were asked to board the aircraft at 10 a.m. and the flight took off at 10.30. a.m.
The passengers were extremely frustrated and several sharp comments were made and some even shouted. But, how can one shout against the wall ? There were no senior managers to give responsible information and give confidence to the passengers.
Some junior staff simply stood and looked upon when the passengers were asking questions and conveying their annoyance.
Some of the comments that could be heard were sharp . Some found fault with the Prime Minister for not dissolving the Air India that would save valuable time of the passengers and crores of rupees of tax payer’s money.
When asked by a young lady as to why the Prime Minister should be blamed for the inefficiency of Air India and why not the Chairman and senior managers, the reply was that the Chairman and the senior managers would not care since their fat pay and perks would not be touched under any circumstance and their job well secured in this public sector undertaking.
Another sharp comment was that those in charge of managing Air India have no pride in the organization and that could be the root cause for the inefficiency in this loss making public sector organization.
N.S.Venkataraman more
Viewed by 278
Wasn't' recently announced in local newspapers that the government had ordained airlines to pay monetary compensation to passengers for delayed flights? Where are gone those days when airlines were obliged to provide overnight accommodation to passengers if the flight was delayed from one day to another? more
Nov 10
very sad. Most of the problems takes place because of inefficient managers and most times because of political interference for example we have come across to see the ugly scene in the case of Shiv Sena MP. The only solution is that the passengers have to take stern actions such as i) Taking action against the responsible managers ans staff if any. ii) Taking up the matter with the concerned Minister iii) Form a citizen's Association where the matter can be lodged with for further action which should include a. Compensation b. harassment c. any loss caused due to cancellation of flight d. take action against the responsible executives or staff in the matter. Self awareness and activation can make the system workable. Wist best regards. R K Sauran more
Oct 24
You cannot expect anything better than this from Air India. Their culture and commitment is the same level for the last so many years. Another joke is their 50% discount offer for Sr. Citizen. Tried and found that the discounted fare is more than the normal fare. When contacted their officials over phone , they replied that as they are giving special seat for Sr. Citizen, the discounted fare will be always more than the normal fare. Then why they are advertising 50% discounted fare for Sr. Citizen- the answer is that it is their Management decision. What a mockery. It is high time that this white elephant is sold out at the earliest and happy to note that GOI is already on the job. more
Oct 24
It is really unfortunate that such an incident had happened .I can really imagine the status of passengers who were put to so much of inconvenience after having paid for their journey.But being an Airline Employee I can very well imagine what would have led to such a situation.First of all it should be taken that I am not justifying the incident but would like to highlight the working of Airline.As per DGCA regulations the operating crew have Flight Duty Time Regulations which star when the pilot gets a wake up call at his residence/Hotel .The aircraft has to be checked by the Engineer and cleared and if there is any technical snag before departure or as observed by the pilot then the Engineer has to rectify the snag .The engineer estimates the time taken to rectify accordingly informs the boarding staff but if it takes longer time the departure time gets extended known as creeping delay.If the delay extends beyond certain limit the Pilot crew rest time will come in and if no stand by crew is available the flight will be cancelled and aircraft will be rescheduled. more
Nov 02
