Flight, fright, fight

That’s the sequence of events air-passengers go through, thanks to increased air traffic, ageing aircraft, careless baggage handlers and indifferent complaint redressal mechanisms.

Misplaced luggage

I frequently take to the air, hence my share of bad experiences range from bad flights to bad service. On the following encounters, an international carrier, misplaced my luggage. Not once, but twice.

Couple of years ago, I was flying from Chennai to Barcelona, and arrived in Barcelona, minus my luggage. On contacting the ground staff, I was told they wouldreturn my luggage once they receive it. I gave up arguing and exhausted, checked into my apartment in Barcelona, without even my toothbrush. I bought everything out of my own pocket for my stay. Astonishingly enough, three days later, without any notification or a call my luggage had, it seems, magically materialised in my apartment. How it got there, is still a mystery to me. 

The other time, my colleagues and I were flying the same carrier as mentioned above from Prague. Shortly after take off, they announced our names, asking us to contact
the ground staff upon landing. I had a feeling of what had transpired. Sure enough, the authorities at the Chennai airport reconfirmed my fears and told me my luggage hadn’t arrived due the many connecting flights. Yet, this time, they made each of us richer by Rs 4000. And my luggage found its way home, three days later. — Aditya Modi. Andheri

Seemed like a local train

I have flown by Air India only a couple of times, and on both occasions, I have had a bad experience. To begin with, the flights never leave on time. The quality of interiors in the aircraft is substandard. Cleanliness is clearly not a priority. It almost seems like I have taken the local train to London instead of the national carrier of our country. I once spotted a cockroach in the bathroom of the aircraft. This is not the service we pay through our nose for. Other local carriers such as Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways, are far better than Air India. The services they provide is a class apart. Air India doesn’t seem to realise that they are competing with world-class carriers. — Pareen Sanghavi. Haji Ali

No medical help at all

I’m a frequent flyer and at 50, have noticed the lack of appropriate medical help at the airport. Once while entering the airport, I got an asthma attack. The airport authorities did not help us in any way. Luckily, a person along with us was a doctor and he handed me some medicines. If it weren’t for him, I would have been left to my fate. Despite several instances of people dying for want of medical attention at the airport, no one seems bothered. — Mohan Ram. Marine Lines

Check-in is a chaos

Once, I was boarding a flight to Mumbai. There were about 500 people before me at the check-in counter. There was no one to guide us. The staff at the airport made no efforts to speed up the process. One irritated passenger lost his calm and was held by the security for shouting at the ground staff who were not doing their job properly. — Deepak Shah. Malad

No security helpline

There is no helpline number to call in case of an emergency. If I want to report an emergency, I have no option but to approach security personnel in person. It is possible that by the time one finds a security guard,  the person he  want to report, might disappear. — Dalip Mehra. Kanjurmarg

AI has noisiest aircraft

Once when I was travelling, an English couple who lost their luggage on their way back to London were ill-treated by the staff of Air India. The couple was patient and waited for hours for their complaint to be lodged. Airline authorities didn’t offer any help.

I am not too sure about the technical side of things, but I can say confidently that Air India aircraft make the most noise and have been the most uneasy flights I have taken. Now, I make it a point not to fly Air India — Pervin Billimoria. Tardeo

Agencies need to be more forthcoming

Investigations after any aviation incident take too long. By the time the report comes out, the incident is out of public memory.

In incidents like the one that happened on Monday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) should come out with a joint statement along with the airline concerned and the aircraft manufacturer, to allay fears. People start worrying about the safety of the airline, when the fault could have been with the manufacturer or even the airstrip.

On our part, we participate in discussions with airlines and the DGCA and have successfully pushed for reforms. While the airlines are appreciative, the response from DGCA could be better.

However, carriers like Air India need to be more responsive. They are yet to respond to a complaint filed in August about a flight delayed by 30 hours. — Sudhakar Reddy. National President, Air Passengers Association of India