NEW DELHI, Feb 14: A cancelled or delayed flight, refusal of a seat on a confirmed ticket and food problems are all causing air passengers vertigo even at ground level. More and more aggrieved people are now dragging airlines to consumer courts for failing to provide promised services.In Delhi alone, "more than 100 such cases of people suing various airlines for more than Rs 20 lakh are pending with the National Consumer Redressal Forum," says an official of the apex consumer redressal forum.
Advocates arguing cases of such petitioners attribute the trend not only to increasing consciousness among consumers who demand value for money, but also accuse several carriers of failing to meet the expected standards of service.
Very often, a flight is delayed to accommodate a VIP who has failed to meet the schedule with the airline announcing a technical snag as the reason for delay, says DR Nigam, an advocate. At times, confirmed ticket-holders are not allowed to travel to make way for someone `withconnections.'
"Airlines provide a service and if there is deficiency in providing them then definitely they are liable for this,'' says consumer activist HD Shourie.
But service providers or airline officials shrug off the allegations made against them, saying they are meeting world standards. Dhrubo Mukherjee, general manager, marketing, Sita Travels, says none of the airlines operating here are adopting any "fixed standard". Several of them providing value-added extra services on international routes have not extended them to India. "Besides, standard is a `fluid' expression. It is difficult to comment whether they have really failed in providing the services,'' says Mukherjee. He, however, adds: "Consumers have really become aware of their rights".
According to consumer court officials, service providers also fall in the Consumer Rights Protection Act and in case of an airline, if it fails to stick to its schedule or provide services as required by them, can be pulled up.
Airlines are also known toact tough when it comes to giving out information. Vidya Shah is suing an international carrier for not intimating her in time about her father's death on one of their flights and for subsequently withholding information on the circumstances that led to his death.
Shah alleges that the airline, instead of informing the family about the tragedy, dumped his body at its local embassy in Amsterdam, which in turn agreed to fly the body to India but after the funeral agency was paid for the embalming.
An embittered Shah says her queries about how her father met his end and which doctor attended to him have not been answered to the family's satisfaction. While she accuses KLM of high-handedness, the Dutch airline's general manager, Vincent AM Knoops, says they did everything possible to retrieve the situation. While the crew is trained on first aid and how to cope with such emergencies, the procedure is to normally look for a doctor among the passengers, says a Lufthansa official. "We have cases where apassenger delivered a baby on board and the doctor came before the television lens," says a British Airways official. Whatever be the outcome of the redressal fora, one thing is clear: this is a healthy development for it has made the airlines more cautious as they strive to match international standards.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
