It’s for airlines to ensure connecting flights

George Varghese had a confirmed booking from Kochi to Abu Dhabi via Mumbai on Air India. The ticket involved changing to another aircraft at Mumbai. However, when he reached the layover destination at 3.30 pm from Kochi, Varghese was told that the flight to Abu Dhabi was not scheduled for that day and he would have to catch a flight on the following day. Despite protests by Varghese no alternative flight was arranged. He was also denied the privilege of accommodation for the 24-hour wait before his flight.
Varghese filed a complaint in the Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum at Kottayam.
Following the case hearing and a notice to Air India, the forum passed an order asking the airline to pay Varghese a sum of Rs25,000 as compensation for the mental agony and deficiency of service in addition to Rs1,000 as costs of litigation.
Air India appealed against the order. Their main contention was that the forum had no jurisdiction over the complaint and that the consumer was not given accommodation in Mumbai as he was an Indian travelling on a ticket purchased from India.
Rejecting their contention, the state commission held that the consumer was put to severe discomfort and that he had faced a traumatic situation based on the facts and circumstances of the case.
Further noting that the complainant had not quantified how much he had spent for taxi fare, hotel accommodation and his food bill, the commission held that the reimbursement was calculated as likely expenses in a strange city. The Commission however found no merit in affording him any compensation for mental agony as directed by the lower Forum.
03/11/08 MS Kamath/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: Air India Domestic Nov 2008, NACIL Nov 2008