The ups and downs of air travel

Every industry has its ups and downs when dealing with customers; airlines is no exception.
For some, travelling by air has always been a pleasant experience, but for some, a harrowing ordeal has made them swear off travelling with certain carriers.
Take the example of K Ramakrishnan, a corporate executive and frequent flier, who says that some of his journeys were made better due to careful handling of sticky situations by the airlines. “The most recent one was on Lufthansa. We had to take a connecting flight, but we were not able to make it, because it was a very short connection and the flight landed late in Munich. They really took care of us. They ensured that we got a good hotel to stay in and kept us informed of when the next connection was possible. Everything was set, including our baggage arrangements. They said they were sorry about the six-hour gap. They were very pleasing, there was a personal element.”
Emotional baggage
But not all lost baggage claims are a pleasant experience. Take the case of Kartavya Jain, visiting India from the US, whose well-laid travel plans went awry when his baggage got lost on a Jet Airways flight. “I checked in three bags. But when I landed in Indore, one of the bags had been misplaced. I had a lot of important documents in the missing bag.” Jain says the airline informed him that it takes up to 14 days to trace a bag, but after the period was over, he had to apply to secure compensation. “Airlines do not make any effort to contact you. It is very disappointing,” he says ruefully.
One of the problems in a situation like this, according to Jain, is that it’s difficult to raise a complaint. “I don’t know what I can do other than file a complaint in the consumer court. The DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) has a website but that doesn’t work.”
Flight turbulence
The recent trouble faced by SpiceJet has resulted in uncomfortable moments for passengers too. Jana Viswanatham, a shipyard engineer, was left in the lurch when his flight was cancelled days before his journey. “I had booked a ticket and four days before the journey I received a message that the flight was cancelled due to technical reasons. They gave me a contact number to change the flight. I contacted the number, but whenever I tried, the number was busy,” he says.
Viswanatham says he hasn’t even been reimbursed for his ticket after the cancellation of his December 5 flight. “They said they will return the money in five days, but it has still not come. When I called again to file a complaint with them, they said it will take one week.”
As a consequence of this late cancellation, Viswanatham had to scramble to book a train ticket for his journey. Will he fly by this airline again? “I don’t think so, because I lost time on this journey. I am aware of the problems faced by this airline; I learnt the next day after my flight was cancelled.”
Read Full Story at:
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-investmentworld/the-ups-and-downs-of-air-travel/article6778736.ece

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