IndiGo Passengers Beware!

Sucheta Dalal 11 December 2017

Consumer Interest

Aditya Ghosh, President of IndiGo Airlines, has led the massive fire-fighting effort that was required after a video of its ground staff assaulting and pinning a passenger to the ground went viral. Unfortunately for him, consumer complaints continue to hit social media at a greater velocity than his PR team can place interviews in the media stories of how the airline is re-training its staff on handling customers. But here are a few things to watch out for, the next time you fly IndiGo, or, probably, any of the budget airlines.

1. A WhatsApp message going around suggests that IndiGo staffers deliberately allow people standing in check-in queues to miss flights (despite requests for help) and offer to place them on the next flight at an extremely high rate. Since this almost happened to one of our colleagues, we have no reason to disbelieve it. This is scary for students, or low-budget travellers, who have got cheap fares by booking well in advance. Please note that even when you have a refundable ticket, the actual refund would be just a few hundred rupees.

2. A Mumbai activist, Achintya Mukherjee, while travelling from Jaipur to Mumbai with his wife, took the precaution of weighing their handbags at home to ensure that hey were within the 14kg limit (it was 12kg). When weighed at the counter, it showed 19kg and an excess baggage charge was demanded. Mr Mukherjee called in the supervisor. He says, “After fiddling around with the machine, the weight showed correctly.” His advice to passengers is to weigh their baggage at home before departing and check in well in time, to avoid being forced to pay extra at the last minute. One needs to have enough time for a complaint and verification!

3. Mr Mukherjee’s wife (73) has a back problem and issues with her knee, so they requested a wheelchair almost 10 days before the flight (6E 339) even though the airline’s website asks passengers to do so 48 hours before the flight. He was told that IndiGo has only four wheelchairs and all of them were booked 10 days before the scheduled departure. Please note, that all new airports involve long walks that are hard for senior citizens. Despite paying airport taxes, airport buggies are hard to find even for elders. Isn’t it strange that neither the airline nor Airport Authority of India is under any obligation to make arrangements (even at an additional charge)?

4. Musicians and sports persons—as evidenced by issues faced by badminton star, PV Sindhu, and Sarod maestro, Amjad Ali Khan—face innumerable hardships, from paying extra, to having their equipment dumped carelessly. But, here, IndiGo actually comes out a little better than the others. Along with Jet Airways and Air India, it does not charge extra (anymore) for musical instruments and does not send them on the luggage belt.

Comments

User

Santanu Rath

9 years ago

Indigo Employees lack the training of customer care. Lack of education is the problem. Passengers are being harassed by some means or other. At Chennai and Hyderabad airports the Gates for departure are changed very frequently and Airlines is careless for the passengers to help in boarding in the right gate. Passengers miss flights and are harassed. Govt. should take up the issue.

Rajan Mathew

9 years ago

While Indigo is attempting suicidal management, airlines like SpiceJet are trying to improve and impress their customers. Yesterday Spicejet delayed one of their Mumbai Bangalore flight to depart delayed for accommodating a few of my son's group who got trapped in a traffic jam.

Murali Ratnam

9 years ago

thank you for the alert .We are senior citizens & we have booked flight for trip to Hyderabad through Indigo.
We will be extra caredful

Kumar Swamy

9 years ago

Time to open up airline industry even more for a lot more competition.

Shashi K Singh

9 years ago

Good plane better than air India and Jet, but poor customer serv8ce

Shashi K Singh

9 years ago

Best plane in service,but requires good handling at all service point. Your people look for making money, a second late I have to board a new flight by paying 20000 for Delhi to Kolkata flight. Your booking counters need to be a customer friendly

ramdas naik

9 years ago

There is one more issue. The airline starts boarding early much before time and make passengers wait in the plane for 30 mins before take off.

Fourier_series

9 years ago

I was travelling withy mother and we were standing in the queue and when our turn came, they refused to take us in..we were right on time and they could have accommodated us...but we were forced to take the next flight at an elevated ticket cost...I had a feeling that they could have taken us in ...

Madhusudana Reddy M

9 years ago

I also faced similar issue when indigo airlines staff did not allow to board the flight which is just infront me saying the gates are closed.I had to wait along with my family for 7 hours to catch next flight(indigo staff only accommdated with increased ticket price) ..