Hi Folks.. I am kind of frustrated with a recent experience i had with Air India. Looking to Rant as well as see if i should do anything..
Back in December i made a round trip reservation for my parent on a non stop Air india flight. I specifically wanted non stop because my parents are very old and i did not want them to be bothered with changing the flights etc. The first part (inbound) of the trip was completed successfully with no issues. The outbound was scheduled for the end of June. However on 15h june i get qan email saying all flights were cancelled and my parents were booked on a 1 stop flight on the same day. (not to mention that the start point was a different airport that was much further away from us).
I called them and told then i was not happy with this but since i had no other choice i wen ahead and put in the meal preferences as well as seat preferences (the rep told me he could not give exact seat numbers, that i would get them during checkin). I was assured that i was all set for the trip.
Today i just happened to call them back to find out what happens to the baggage since its a 1 stop flight and after being hung up on a few times and being put on hold at other times (hold time as long as 50+ minutes). i was finally informed that the tickets were cancelled due to a system error and there was no seats available on that flight! There was no email communication about this and if i had not called, i would have never known until check-in time!
After a long venting session i was able to get them booked for a different date just before their visa expired on the same "1 Stop" flight. And once again i am assured that i am all set for the trip.
I am really frustrated with the whole thing. I had half a mind to dispute the charge via credit card, but then backed out thinking that my parents had already used half the ticket and i did not want any further disruptions to their outbound trip.
I even debated cancelling and booking a one way nonstop flight, but the prices were way to absurd.
I did send them an email with all the above details and telling them i was not happy with the way we were treated.. but i don't expect a response from them.
Have any of you experienced anything similar? what did you do?
you should know better than to ever let anyone you remotely care about fly air india, there are so many other airlines out there and prices aren't even that much more and worth the extra $ in the end because of situations like this
mnsweeps
Senior Member - 10K
posted: Jun. 27, 2012 @ 11:57p
Stop flying AI. I flew once ORD - BOM back in 1994 and decided never to fly with them after bad experience on board.
rite
Ancient Member
posted: Jun. 28, 2012 @ 1:57a
Its Air India1 Need I say something else. Tickets getting cancelled due to system failure happens all the time. I had this happen to me with Lufthansa and was informed about the situation during checkin, but was happy when they bumped me to business class
You should know better than to ever let anyone you slightly proper value fly air indian, there are so many other air carriers out there and costs aren't even that much more and value the additional $ in the end because of circumstances like this
rxthakkar
New Member
posted: Jun. 28, 2012 @ 8:58a
AIr India didn't pay salary to Pilot so they are on Strike and causing all this problem. If i were you I will cancel the ticket get refund and buy some other airline ticket just for safety reason.
ionxchanger
Enthusiastic Member
posted: Jun. 28, 2012 @ 9:44a
I'd not buy cheaper flights just to save some $$ when traveling internationally, the difference not much when esp when flying off season
rbsolanki
Member
posted: Jun. 28, 2012 @ 9:47a
I flew Last december to India and back with AI and decided never ever I will fly with AI. Customer service inside USA from AI is worst comparing their customer service within India. They are Ok(just OK) within India(it is worse if you compare it with any US based airlines) I flew once oneway on Continental(Now United) their price were little higher compared to retrun but not much. This was in 2007.
DutchessPDX
Geeky member
posted: Jun. 28, 2012 @ 12:24p
mrsdealchecker said:
I am really frustrated with the whole thing. I had half a mind to dispute the charge via credit card, but then backed out thinking that my parents had already used half the ticket and i did not want any further disruptions to their outbound trip.
I even debated cancelling and booking a one way nonstop flight, but the prices were way to absurd.
I did send them an email with all the above details and telling them i was not happy with the way we were treated.. but i don't expect a response from them.
So let me get this straight, you bought a ticket and they flew successfully. You were told a flight changed and then called later to confirm a flight got everything fixed BEFORE the flight and you want to do a chargeback? Seriously? They're still getting your parents to/from their destination safely. A plane reservation is never a guarantee that you will be on the exact itinerary you book sometimes changes happen and you get rerouted it's a fact of flying. Why don't you put on your big girl panties and get over being hurt by all these so called "disruptions" and "frustration". They provided a service and you're receiving the service an you want to do a chargeback...grow-up and learn to deal with life's little inconveniences.
apnagirish
Senior Member
posted: Jun. 28, 2012 @ 12:46p
Sorry to hear about your situation. I have been flying Air India for the last 7 years and fortunately never had issue. It appears to be more of a glitch than a general problem with the airline. Talk to their NY office people and see if they can do something to help.
However for your future trips, I would recommend you to consider Continental (now United) as they also have non stop flights to Mumbai and Delhi. In fact their timings work out better as it reaches there late evening around 8:00 ish and is mostly before time. The food is not bad (not as good Indian food as Air India) but workable.
Additionally the miles you get could be used on domestic flights in the US. Hope that helps you plan your future trips.
Good Luck!
HDFB
Senior Member
posted: Jun. 28, 2012 @ 2:33p
Try booking a one way on a different airline and disputing the charges. There are many airlines that meet your needs.
The so-called 1-stop flight is now a history as far as Air India is concerned. I also had bought these 1-stop flight tickets, but with the current situation with so many of their pilots on strike, flights are often getting diverted. I had a ticket from NY to India which was supposed to be non-stop and instead they stopped at Paris, at Delhi, at Hyderabad and finally at my destination. None of this was told to us when we were at the boarding counter. So, just exercise some caution, I'd recommend using matrix.itasoftware.com to find a good one-way ticket and cancelling AI altogether. matrix.itasoftware.com is managed by Google, you cannot buy the tickets directly from them, but give a call to Orbitz with the information that you'll get from the site after performing your search and they will be able to book it. Orbitz, Kayak and almost every other major travel site get their information from ITA.
ionxchanger
Enthusiastic Member
posted: Jun. 28, 2012 @ 5:22p
True that.. such a baby...
DutchessPDX said: mrsdealchecker said:
I am really frustrated with the whole thing. I had half a mind to dispute the charge via credit card, but then backed out thinking that my parents had already used half the ticket and i did not want any further disruptions to their outbound trip.
I even debated cancelling and booking a one way nonstop flight, but the prices were way to absurd.
I did send them an email with all the above details and telling them i was not happy with the way we were treated.. but i don't expect a response from them.
So let me get this straight, you bought a ticket and they flew successfully. You were told a flight changed and then called later to confirm a flight got everything fixed BEFORE the flight and you want to do a chargeback? Seriously? They're still getting your parents to/from their destination safely. A plane reservation is never a guarantee that you will be on the exact itinerary you book sometimes changes happen and you get rerouted it's a fact of flying. Why don't you put on your big girl panties and get over being hurt by all these so called "disruptions" and "frustration". They provided a service and you're receiving the service an you want to do a chargeback...grow-up and learn to deal with life's little inconveniences.
kvs25
Silly Member
posted: Jun. 28, 2012 @ 5:34p
welcome to dealing with a government-run airline. An Indian government-run airline at that. As an Indian who repeatedly tells his parents not to fly AI (but they do anyway), I feel your pain in dealing with them.
jcb193
Ancient Member
posted: Jun. 28, 2012 @ 9:00p
I feel like anyone that has flown Air India has this story or one of equal distress.
I have many such stories for AA, United and Southwest on cancelling flights and throwing me in middle of nowhere. Most of Indian parents feel more comfortable on AI because they get company for such a long flight. I use AI since last 8 years and never had issues. Almost used every year more then once. Delays happen. Happens with all air lines. AA is much worse. They are expert in cancelling morning nonstop flights on the name of technical problem when they have less traffic.
mrsdealchecker
Frivolous Member
posted: Jun. 28, 2012 @ 9:56p
DutchessPDX said: mrsdealchecker said:
I am really frustrated with the whole thing. I had half a mind to dispute the charge via credit card, but then backed out thinking that my parents had already used half the ticket and i did not want any further disruptions to their outbound trip.
I even debated cancelling and booking a one way nonstop flight, but the prices were way to absurd.
I did send them an email with all the above details and telling them i was not happy with the way we were treated.. but i don't expect a response from them.
So let me get this straight, you bought a ticket and they flew successfully. You were told a flight changed and then called later to confirm a flight got everything fixed BEFORE the flight and you want to do a chargeback? Seriously? They're still getting your parents to/from their destination safely. A plane reservation is never a guarantee that you will be on the exact itinerary you book sometimes changes happen and you get rerouted it's a fact of flying. Why don't you put on your big girl panties and get over being hurt by all these so called "disruptions" and "frustration". They provided a service and you're receiving the service an you want to do a chargeback...grow-up and learn to deal with life's little inconveniences.
Thank you for you "kind" response.. not an apple to apple comparison, but if you pay for a bluray DVD and you get a regular DVD, would you be happy about it?
If you pay for an imax 3d film and they show you a regular movie.. after the end of the movie would you demand a refund?? "Seriously? you are still seeing the same movie from start to finish... no change in any scene or story line or characters.. " would you say to your self "Why don't I put on my big girl panties and get over being hurt by all these so called... "
although i feel i have a right to chargeback, and a right to some form of compensation.. i did NOT do so because part of the fight was used and i did not feel it was a fair thing to do which is why i did not dispute the charge.. (i still have the option to do it )
My post was not for getting a chargeback but to find out what else i can do.. and i did get great suggestions from other members and also came to know about their experiences.. there was a lot of stuff i did not know before and thanks to them i do now..
Even though u sound like a grown-up person who knows how to deal with such "little' issues, i sincerely hope you or the people that are close to you never have undergo this frustration.
mrsdealchecker
Frivolous Member
posted: Jun. 28, 2012 @ 10:09p
Thanks for all your responses..i never knew AI was in the bad books of so many people.. but then unless you have an issue yourself you never know
The only reason i used AI for my parents is because in my knowledge they are the only one that have (had) non-stop flights from BOM-EWR. Since my parents are very old and dont speak english.. they are not very comfortable getting around.. and having them switch flights is what i wanted to avoid. But after this issue i guess i am better off booking a 1 stop flight with a more reliable carrier
I went through certain links like airsafe.com & the DOT site.. these are really great and useful resource.. thanks for sharing these..
mrsdealchecker
Frivolous Member
posted: Jun. 28, 2012 @ 10:17p
HDFB said: Try booking a one way on a different airline and disputing the charges. There are many airlines that meet your needs.
i did consider cancelling the unused part of the ticket and booking a one way ticket, but the prices with 1 stop are $1200+ per ticket.. which is way to high..which is why i am sticking to AI for now.. just hope i dont have any more surprises with AI.
jaimelobo
Senior Member - 4K
posted: Jun. 29, 2012 @ 8:37a
So why are you i-dots greening the post by "jfdhdh"?
If you you pay attention and actually read the posts in this thread, you would see that the post is just copy/pastes of "svreddy's" post (apparently after running it through a bad translator).
jfdhdh does this in numerous forums on FW, never writes an original post -- not sure why poster hasn't been baned yet.
shanky555
Addicted Member
posted: Jun. 29, 2012 @ 9:04a
Book them one way. Dispute the charges with credit card.(Make sure you have some documentation from AI regarding cancellation of flight). AI is not worth a single penny. Stop encouraging AI by booking with them. I flew with them once and it s by far the worst flying experience.
webmerch11
Member
posted: Jun. 29, 2012 @ 10:21a
svreddy said: you should know better than to ever let anyone you remotely care about fly air india, there are so many other airlines out there and prices aren't even that much more and worth the extra $ in the end because of situations like this Agreed 100%
Mickie3
Ancient Member
posted: Jun. 29, 2012 @ 12:14p
webmerch11 said: svreddy said: you should know better than to ever let anyone you remotely care about fly air india, there are so many other airlines out there and prices aren't even that much more and worth the extra $ in the end because of situations like this Agreed 100%
If you scrimp on something just to save pennies, why be surprised that what you get is inferior? As to the line about having others from India to/from the US on AI, who exactly does the OP think is traveling those routes on the other airlines, Greek nationals?
pruks
Ancient Member
posted: Jun. 30, 2012 @ 10:16p
Lesson of the day - don't fly AIR INDIA.
Edit: Their prices are competitive but paying the extra $75-125 is worth not dealing with them.BTW I fly a lot and I never recommend AI.
karenlinc7068
New Member
posted: Jul. 1, 2012 @ 3:58p
this just falls into place just nicely with the Indian attitude.
its got less to do with the indian attitude & more to do with how the rich & powerful can turn the tide in their favour....
HumDoHamaraDo
Happy Member
posted: Jul. 3, 2012 @ 12:16p
mrsdealchecker said: Thanks for all your responses..i never knew AI was in the bad books of so many people.. but then unless you have an issue yourself you never know
The only reason i used AI for my parents is because in my knowledge they are the only one that have (had) non-stop flights from BOM-EWR. Since my parents are very old and dont speak english.. they are not very comfortable getting around.. and having them switch flights is what i wanted to avoid. But after this issue i guess i am better off booking a 1 stop flight with a more reliable carrier
I went through certain links like airsafe.com & the DOT site.. these are really great and useful resource.. thanks for sharing these.. Continental has non-stop filght BOM-EWR.
nishakn
New Member
posted: Jul. 9, 2012 @ 8:29p
We bought tickets on AI - non-stop NY-Delhi for July 22. Now they have added a stop in Paris. Do I need to get airport transit visa for France? They only have appointments available in August at the NY French consulate. I called AI and yelled at a girl (sorry about that) who said that AI will let us on that plane without the transit visa, but we have to sit in the plane for 1.5 hours in Paris. Has anyone had any experience? AI said that they have been doing this for two months since May 15th. Will they actually let us board ?
Q : I am an Indian citizen. I will fly from Newark to Mumbay through Paris. I will stay within the airplane during the 2 hours stop. The US visa stamped in my passport is not valid anymore. I do not have a green card.
A : If you have a valid OR expired US visa stamped in your passport or a green card AND you are returning to India, you do NOT need an airport transit visa.
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