March 21, 2007 | E-mail article link | m-Travel.com
| Comments (19)
"Air Deccan taking people for ride"
Indian news channel CNN-IBN provided a synopsis of passengers indifferent
experience with low-cost airline Air Deccan via its website ibnlive.com. The
report:
Meet Louie Mathew a management consultant who decided to take Air Deccan's
5:55 AM flight DN763 from Bangalore to Mumbai on January 29, 2007.
"I reached the airport at 5:05 AM for a 5:55 flight. The counter person
checked in four people in half an hour. I was the fifth person, but when my
turn came and my ID had been checked, my ticket was suddenly taken back. They
said that the time written on my ticket was 5:36 AM and I was told that the
counter was closed," says Louie.
Louie suddenly found himself off-loaded from a flight for which he had come
well in time and the irony is that Louie wasn't alone.
Says another passenger who was off-loaded, Shradha Lapasiya, "There were at
least 20 of us who were waiting to board the flight when the counters closed."
Adds a third passenger, who suffered the same fate, Rituparna Bose, "The whole
thing seemed to have been stage-managed."
But Louie was not one to take things lying down.
"I got through to DGCA in Delhi and then they got in touch with the Mumbai
airport just when the plane was about to land," says he.
Luckily for Louie, an earnest Airports Authority of India (AAI) official
decided to do a head-count himself.
"First I asked about them how many people were there and they said the plane
was full - 180 passengers plus six crew members. Then I decided to count the
number of passengers," the official told CNN-IBN on condition of anonymity.
"If the plane was full and there were at least 20 of us standing at the
counter, that can only mean one thing, that it was a clear case of over
booking," says Louie.
This is not all. While the airline purposely chose to offload 15 passengers
and declare them late-comers, they chose to show the same 15 passengers as 'No-
Shows', thus pocketing the ticket amount of the extra tickets, refunding only
the tax amount - thus cheating passengers.
This is a gross violation of DGCA norms.
"Low cost airlines cannot overbook because they do not refund fares or
transfer passengers to other airlines," explained the AAI official.
Air Deccan, in an effort to try and clear it's name blamed the issue on a
systems error:
Says MD Air Deccan, Captain G R Gopinath, "It was a systems error and the
passengers who have suffered will be getting compensation."
However, the question here is, why is the Government allowing passengers to be
taken for a ride?
(Another report - Air Deccan 'simplicheats!' | Impact)
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/air-deccan-stagemanages-cheating-of-passengers/36509-3.html
Related news articles in Category: Airlines
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Comments
I totally agree that Air Deccan is taking people for a ride. I've had a real nasty personal experience with them which has not been sorted out as yet.
I'd booked a ticket for 12th of April 2007 from B'lore to Pune and the return for 16th April 2007, on 9th March 2007. I got back a mail from Air Deccan giving my Confirmation number and name but no details about my travel. On enquiring with them, they told me my ticket was cancelled and would be refunded. On further enquiring as to why my ticket got cancelled when i'd not cancelled it in the first place they said it was a bad transaction and the transaction would be reverted in about 2 weeks time.
But the problem was not with the reverting of transaction or the time taken to do it. The problem was with the customer care division that took me for a ride. Initially i'd tried calling the customer care number which kept me on queue for ever and i could never get through. Then i enquired abt the ticket with an Air deccan agent who guided me to go to the Air deccan office at the airport. On enquiring there, they gave me a number to the Air deccan head office and told it could be sorted out over there and told that the customer care service was down. If the customer care service was down, then why on earth can't they just put up a recorded message saying that the service is down and remove the message that says i'm in queue?
Now calling the head office was a nightmare. The lady who answered my call wouldn't care to listen to me unless i called the customer care and they told me to call the main office! On arguing that the customer care service was down, she contradicts and tells she's not willing to even check my confirmation number unless i call the customer care and get back to her. I still wonder how on earth that cud make a difference! And the customer care kept me waiting for abt half an hour or so.
Now after going through the customer care and then calling the head office, the 'smart' lady, i guess afraid to disclose her name, hands over the phone to another lady who identifies herself as Kalaka. Now she gives me another number and claims that the number that i'd called being that of the Finance Dept of Air Deccan does NOT deal with money transactions! Seemingly only the refunds dept deals with all the money transactions! Now calling the refunds dept, I get a gentleman on the other side who tells me that he'll lodge a complain on my behalf and takes down the details. After that i get a mail from Air Deccan saying my complain has been lodged and my ticket would be refunded in 40 working days' time whereas the guy on the phone told me it'd take 20 days. On calling them again after a few days to enquire abt the status, another man checks up and tells me that it'll take abt 2 weeks to revert the transaction. And 2day on the 27th of March which is 18 days after i've booked the ticket and 2 weeks after lodging the complain, i've still not recieved a refund or got my transaction reverted!
For this being the condition of their customer service, man i really pity them.
Posted by: Sachin | Mar 27, 2007 5:27:17 AM
Air deccan is the world's worst airlines. I have booked a return ticket for delhi to kolkata and back on 12 nov 2006. PNR number is DA07667754. Departure was on 2nd april 2007, arrival was on 5th april 2007. Now , when today on 1st april , i checked with air deccan, it says that I have no flight reservations and that if i have booked now i have to reschedule and pay the recheduling fees and fare difference as well. The flight numbers that I have been assigned also dont exist. I have been screwed by air deccan like anything. I have been trying air deccan customer care for past 5 days and have been kept on hold for more than 3 hours and noone picks the phone. I wonder if anybody is really emloyed over there. The airport staff is so unpolite and indecent that they deserve to be slapped on their faces. Air deccan took my money and now they are telling me that i have no reservations andf that i have to pay for a new flight. I have all the details , printouts and emails from Air deccan with me. I have my credit card records which show that Air deccan took the money. Air deccan, you cant take ppl for a ride like this. First you over book flights and cheat people. CNN-IBN exposed this . and now u take ppl's money and just blantly refuse that they dont have any reservation when i have got all the proofs. I am gonna take you to the courts and make sure you dont get away this time. Its time for a lawsuit and i am filing it right now. Cheaters...
Posted by: Manoj Rai | Apr 1, 2007 7:44:07 AM
can u strat daliy flight ldhiana to delhi
Posted by: kamaljit | Apr 12, 2007 6:44:14 AM
Hi, Myself Ashok Kumar (Bangalore along with lot of my friends have not yet got refund of our tickets from Air Deccan on our credit card and they do not pick up ever the call if u call them up. Can we register some complaint or involve media in this as this is hitting huge no. of people. This is FRAUD !!!!
Posted by: Ashok Kumar | Apr 12, 2007 11:35:43 AM
Hi, I am sigu joseph, who booked the ticket on april 03rd 2007 & my PNR is DA09501476, When I called them on that day morning, they told that the flight is delayed by 25 minutes and will be starting at 1:25pm, I reached the airport at 1:00pm and headed for bagging the onboard-pass, They told me that I am already 5 minutes delayed and cannot give the ticket back, I thought it was my mistake and booked another ticket from air-sahara (which costs me 15K), and headed for boarding the air-sahara flight, At the time (1:45pm), when I am looking out side, I am still seeing the air-deccan flight is still on airport and didn;t leave the airport, that seems to surprising, After returning back to Hyd, when I was trying to contact the airdeccan staff, they told that flight has left the airport at 1:20PM itself!!!!!, i am not sure whether they are cheating customers, or they themselves are putting up a idiotic show,.,,,
Posted by: Sigu Joseph | Apr 16, 2007 7:25:19 AM
Yep, Air Deccan knows only to take money, but very bad in giving it back. I had cancelled my Air Deccan resv# 1567530 for 5 passengers on March 1, 2007, but no refund has been received yet.
A case# 38868 was filed but to no avail. Now I have sent emails to ceo@airdeccan.net and encourage you to do the same for your refunds.
good luck,
naresh
Posted by: Naresh Sehgal | Apr 18, 2007 4:41:58 PM
Just found out that Air "Dhakkan" is cheating Super Flier customers. Their online site for booking Super Flier package is down for past two months. So the existing holders of this package, need to call Air "dhakkan" phone number and provide all the details to the customer service representative. The person will take the details on a piece of paper and pass it on to the concerned department. That dept will take its own “sweet” time to book the ticket. And here is the catch -- they will first book the tickets for customers who are non-Super Flier package holder as they get higher prices there. The seats may not be available till you get your turn for package booking....it's put on hold for few days. In the end they will come back to you saying that no seats are available.
In these days of web, Air "dhakkan" has managed to keep their Super Flier package site down for two months. And still there is no plan from them when it will be available.
Posted by: Kumar | Apr 26, 2007 8:26:57 AM
I had booked a ticket from Hyderabad to Delhi on Feb.26, 2007 on phone. My PNR No. is: DA09609220 and the flight No. is: DN-677. Maximum refund of 85% of fare can be obtained if cancellation is done before 72 hours of flight departure. I tried to cancel the booking on March 03, 2007, but the Airdeccan website was being updated and I could not get access to my PNR No. I tried to cancel it on phone. The customer care executive told me that she also could not access the PNR No. because their website was being updated and I should try to cancel on March , 07, since till then I can get 85% of refund. On March 06 and March 07, 2007, I tried repeatedly innumerable times to access my PNR No. for cancellation on the website as well as on phone. The phone lines were continuously busy and I was unable to speak to any customer care executive since morning till night for two days. When someone picked up the phone, he/she would keep on hold for 30 minutes at a stretch. Finally, one executive agreed to file a case for cancellation and gave a No. 24201 for the case. Since then, I have not been able to contact any customer care ewecutive on phone because the lines are constantly busy and the website is also not fully functional yet. I am unable to understand what should I do. I tried to contact a representative at the airport but she replied that airline is suffering. I don't know whether I will get refund back or not?
Posted by: khursheed fatma | Apr 30, 2007 12:51:48 PM
I fully agree that Air Deccan is organization full of cheats. I have paid them Rs 48000/- in advance for a value plaus flier coupon and now they are making me run to book my tickets.
Call centre response is very poor & theuy give HO number which no one picks up. I am trying since past 10 days to get my booking done but no response.
Can we file a case on this CARTOON".
Posted by: S P Bindra | May 10, 2007 8:50:52 AM
I fully agree that Air Deccan is organization full of cheats. I have paid them Rs 48000/- in advance for a value plaus flier coupon and now they are making me run to book my tickets.
Call centre response is very poor & theuy give HO number which no one picks up. I am trying since past 10 days to get my booking done but no response.
Can we file a case on this CARTOON".
Posted by: S P Bindra | May 10, 2007 8:50:57 AM
I fully agree that Air Deccan is organization full of cheats. I have paid them Rs 48000/- in advance for a value plaus flier coupon and now they are making me run to book my tickets.
Call centre response is very poor & theuy give HO number which no one picks up. I am trying since past 10 days to get my booking done but no response.
Can we file a case on this CARTOON".
Posted by: S P Bindra | May 10, 2007 8:51:07 AM
Mental Harassment causes insecurity and fear of being left stranded as Air Deccan Flight takes off leaving mother and child with valid boarding card after security check at Kolkata airport on 7th instant at 12.40pm
My wife after travelling alone with a 16month old infant from Delhi to Calcutta on a Air Sahara flight was continue her journey to Agartala on Air Deccan Flight No 571. She went through all security checks at the Calcutta airport and was scheduled to board the flight to Agartala. However she had to go to the washroom for about 10 minutes to get the baby diapers changed and to freshen herself, after which returned to her seat and waited for the boarding call.
After a long wait beyond the flight time she enquired about the delay. To her horror she was rudely told that the flight has already left and announcement for her was made. On enquiring how that was possible the staff spoke arrogantly to a already nervous and crying lady with a child, she was also told that the ticket was cancelled and she can come back the nest day with a new ticket to board the flight to Agartalla. She was taken to a room and mentally harassed with rude and arrogant behiviour (Which she incidentally went by Indian Airlines the next day without any refund)
I highly object to this careless attitude of the staff
· They did not bother to do a check to find where a mother and child could have disappeared, as there were only a 10-15 persons for the flight.
· A check of the washrooms, which was a logical place for the duo to be, was not done.
· Even after their return to the waiting area, no further enquiry was done to find out what happened to the missing passengers, till my wife went enquiring about the delay. (Isn’t missing passengers a security threat issue)
· What if the person was deaf and disabled, what then? Do the management have any protocols for passengers with spatial needs.( if they existed then this would not have happened.)
· The agony and rude behaviour that was melted out to my wife, I too was a listener over the phone as they refused to speak to me in spite of repeated pleading of my wife to speak to me. (Not that I could have helped but could have understood the situation and made arrangements for her stay for the night in Kolkata.)
Air travelling was a mater of pride for most, but if in the name of cheep tickets if one has to go through such cheep talks then we would prefer to pay more and fly carriers who value self respect and give dignity to its valued passengers.
I close my letter with the hope that the guilty staff at the Calcutta airport and the duty manager should tender an apology to my wife. i intend to take the matter to the highest level in the ministry.
Posted by: Tilak Lodh | May 27, 2007 5:38:02 PM
Hi,
I am planning a class action against Air Deccan in the Consumer Court. Please mail me (zehawk@gmail.com) ALL details if you are interested.
Note: This is only for delayed refunds, nothing else. I will delete all other emails.
Posted by: Hawkeye | Jun 11, 2007 12:58:14 PM
those ass holes have lotted me to...
I am following up with them,
If they dont agree...I will not go the leagal way...but try my own...
Posted by: nilesh | Aug 10, 2007 6:05:31 AM
Look at these assholes....they simply auto reply...
"ceo@airdeccan.net"
to me
show details
10:38 am (0 minutes ago)
Dear Sir/ Madam,
Greetings from Air Deccan and thank you for choosing Air Deccan, as your Airline.
As a valued customer your feedback is important to us and we would like to hear about the problems you experienced, the people you met, the pleasant experiences you might have had, your suggestions for improvement and anything else you would like to share with us.
Thank you for writing in to us, we shall respond to you shortly.
Best Regards,
Air Deccan Team
Posted by: nilesh | Aug 10, 2007 6:07:37 AM
Hi !
sir i need to contact AirDeccan staff in hyderabad Airport,so pls can u send me some phone umbers to contact them.Actually we booked a ticket for tommarrow's flight from hyd to Vzg.we wanna it to be postponed for the next day.can that be possible.
Posted by: kishore | Aug 13, 2007 7:45:15 AM
it is very fine
Posted by: rahul modi | Sep 23, 2007 8:36:46 AM
Hi,
I am siddharth. I was supposed to fly with air deccan on 7 th nov. But got a sms from air deccan that flight is cancelled , then i tried to call the customer care for the refund and rest of the stuff but it kept me in queue forever, then i called their banglore office, the guy over there told me that we will give full refund withing 2 weeks and cancelled my ticket. So do u have any suggestions for me, what shall i do?... i also told them to send a mail to me regarding this refund confirmation but they simply refused...
Posted by: Siddharth | Nov 5, 2007 6:57:22 AM
Hi All,
Air Deccan is CHEATERS and the KINGFISHER have absorbed all the people of Air Deccan. Its no more different, same FOX with dress changed - PLEASE AVOIDE FLYING WITH KINGFISHER OR DECCAN - they can put you in truble anytime.
Posted by: raveesh | Feb 5, 2008 6:55:37 AM
