Soumya Swaminathan, former director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), took to Twitter (now X) to slam Air India after she failed to upgrade her seat on a flight from Nairobi to Delhi. The 65-year-old said that she hit a “dead end” with the seat upgradation despite being a loyal flyer and a member of the airline’s Maharaja Club.
“Terrible experience with Air India,” said Swaminathan after the airline failed to provide her with an upgraded seat
She added that she is a loyal member of Air India, and yet the airline didn’t upgrade her seat. “Despite being a loyal member, enough mileage & hours online & on phone – dead end,” she added.
The scientist, who is known for her research on TB and HIV, said that the airline offered “illogical” reasons for denying the upgrade.
“Why should the customer suffer your irrationality?” she asked.
Terrible experience with @airindia – trying to upgrade with miles/payment for my Nairobi to Delhi flight tomorrow. Despite being a loyal member, enough mileage & hours online & on phone – dead end. Reasons given are illogical – why should the customer suffer your irrationality?
— Soumya Swaminathan (@doctorsoumya) April 8, 2025
Air India acknowledged her social media post and requested her Maharaja Club ID details. Maharaja Club is a loyalty program, formerly known as Flying Returns, that rewards frequent flyers with points redeemable for benefits like award flights, cabin upgrades, and priority services, both on Air India and its Star Alliance partner airlines.
Dear Ma'am, we acknowledge your concern. Please share your booking details along with your Maharaja Club ID via DM. We will check and assist you.
— Air India (@airindia) April 8, 2025
In response to her social media post, one individual said that “it is increasingly becoming a nuisance with Air India”. He added, “Nobody to respond and the ones who speak are having no idea about the passengers suffering and the end of all this trauma, we get a NO answer in a well-covered speech. Pathetic state madam.”
“I don’t know why Air India is behaving like this.. even inflight cleanliness is also poor…They need to be customer-centric,” another added.
A third commented, “Air India is scaring me as I prepare to travel on the 10th.”
“Concur and the real joke with Air India is after all the inefficiencies, they’ll show up here on X asking for booking details and membership number in DMs, like they don’t know that already and as if that will fix anything,” said a fourth.
Several others said that they are facing similar issues with the airline’s Maharaja Club Card.