Air India once again has been put under the scanner of the District Consumer Dispute Dispute Commission, Ludhiana, only two months after being fined by a defective commercial class seat. This time, the airline has received the order to pay ₹ 2 Lakh in compensation to the businessman based in Ludhiana Salil Bansal for degrading two executive class tickets to the economy without prior notice.
According to Bansal’s complaint, he had reserved six executive class tickets for him and his family for a trip from Delhi to New York on October 2, 2022. Tickets were bought through a private travel agent, Tripzetta, at a total cost of ₹ 21.3 Lakh.
However, when arriving at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, the family was informed that two business class seats were unusable. As a result, Bansal’s children, Bansal Ojal and Soham Bansal, were forced to travel in economic class despite having paid premium seats.
Bansal claimed that the airline refused to accommodate his children in executive class on an alternative flight or reprogram their travel date. He affirmed that the reduction caused significant inconveniences and mental anguish, particularly given the high cost of tickets. The businessman subsequently filed a complaint before the consumer commission, looking for ₹ 7 Lakh as refund for degraded tickets, ₹ 5 Lakh for mental agony and ₹ 20 Lakh as compensation for poor service.
While Air India appeared before the commission to defend his actions, Tripzetta did not respond, which led to an ex -part order against the travel agency. In his defense, the airline argued that Bansal was offered three alternatives: traveling on another flight with available business class seats, receiving a complete refund or accepting compensation for the rate difference. However, the Commission did not find a documented evidence of a formal refund or an alternative offer of Air India.
After reviewing the case, the commission, led by President Sanjeev Batra and the member Monika Bhagat, ruled that Air India participated in unfair commercial practices by not fulfilling the service he had promised.
The Commission said that despite collecting a considerable rate, the airline did not provide a justified resolution to the passenger complaint. He directed Air India to compensate Bansal with ₹ 2 Lakh, which covers the estimated rate difference, mental harassment and legal expenses. The Commission also declared that the amount must be paid within 30 days. In case of non -compliance, an annual interest rate will be applied from the date on which the complaint was filed.
(Tagstotranslate) Ludhiana (T) Air India (T) 2 Lakh Compensation (T) Salil Bansal (T) Business Ludhiana (T) Executive class ticket
