Couple fight Air India over luggage theft

A couple are fighting an airline for compensation after they say their suitcases were broken into and valuables stolen during a trip to India.
Navjivan and Pushpa Sood, of Christchurch Road, Ilford, say their trip to attend three weddings was ruined after their bags went missing for days, and were returned damaged and several pounds lighter.
The couple booked to fly with Austrian Airlines, but delays because of bad weather meant they switched to a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, then took an Air India flight to Delhi. But their luggage was not at Indira Gandhi International Airport when they arrived on October 11, and took until October 18 to turn up where they were staying.
The couple said zips and padlocks on the cases had been cut, and a camera, necklace, watches and electronic items were missing.
The Soods believe the cost of the damage and missing items adds up to £2,500.
Air India has refused to pay for the missing items, although it has agreed to reimburse them for the damage to their suitcases.
In a letter, Air India representative Shakuntala Gulia said the airline would not compensate them for the stolen items because they had gone over their luggage allowance on the flight to Delhi.
Mr Sood rejected this reasoning, saying their luggage was within the maximum allowed by Austrian Airlines, the carrier they booked their flights with, but were switched through no fault of their own. He has continued to press the airline for compensation, but to no avail.
07/02/08 Ilford Recorder 24, UK

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Categories: Air India - International Feb 2008, Foreign Feb 2008, NACIL Feb 2008