Top consumer complaints in 2024 - Voxya Consumer Forum Online

Airlines Complaints

Indian Airlines Industry has recently become one of the fastest-growing airlines industries in the world. They generate a huge amount of income and employment. There are about 450 airports and more than 1000 registered aircrafts in India today.

But nothing can ruin a holiday than diligently planning a whole trip with excitement, only to arrive disappointedly at the airport to find out that there is some glitch.

The most common airline complaints in 2019 was lost baggage. According to a recent survey, an average of 1 in 150 people have their checked baggage lost or left behind every year. The other common airline complaint is flight delay. Apart from flight delay, consumer often face issues like promised refund not given, ticket cancelled, flight cancelled without prior knowledge, rude staff behaviour etc.

As per Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) guidelines for flight delays, the Airlines should inform about flight delays promptly to the passengers with reasons. If a flight is delayed beyond 2-3 hours, airlines should offer compensation and assistance, which may include meals, refreshments, and accommodation. Also, the passengers should be given options for full refund or re-booking the next available flight. These guidelines regarding delay and cancellation, helps passengers to understand their rights. Hence it is possible to get flight delay compensation in India.

If you have faced these kinds of problems with your airline, you must have brought it to airline authorities' notice by complaining. In this article, we have mentioned India's famous airlines, and the types of complaints the airlines' passengers face with them.

FAMOUS AIRLINES IN INDIA

1. Go Air: Go Air has secured a spot in the list of best Airlines in India. It was founded in November 2005 by Jeh Wadia, an Indian industrialist. In October 2017, it was India's fifth largest airline and had a considerable market share of 8.4%. The airline is a fully-owned subsidiary of Wadia Group and started its operations in November 2005. The airline operates 230 daily flights to 30 significant destinations, which have 24 domestic and 6 international destinations. The airline has its hubs at Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kannur, and Kolkata.

2. Air India Express: Air India Express is an economical airline having its headquarters in Kerala. Airlines are operated by Air India Express Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of India's national carrier Air India. It runs around 649 flights per week to 33 Middle East and Southeast destinations. The airline has a fleet of aircraft 25 Boeing 737-800 and carries approximately 4.3 million passengers every year.

3. Spice Jet: Spice Jet is a low-cost airline having its headquarters in Gurugram, India. Initially, in 1994 it was established as air taxi provider ModiLuft and then later in 2004, it was renamed Spice Jet by an Indian entrepreneur and started its operation in May 2005. According to data in March 2019, Spicejet was the second-largest airline in India and had 13.6% of the market share in the number of passengers. Spicejet has a fleet of Boeing 737 and Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft. It operates 312 flights daily to 55 destinations, which include 7 international and 47 domestic destinations. Many flights are operated from Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Hyderabad.

4. IndiGo: Indigo was founded in 2006 by Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal as a private company and had its headquarters in Gurugram. The airline had its first aircraft in July 2006, and it started its operations in 2016. By 2012 it became the largest Indian carrier, and in 2015 it went limited and issued a share to the public. Indigo has an immense fleet size in India and a maximum domestic share. Also, Indigo is the largest individual Asian low-cost carrier in passengers' carried and jet fleet size. Maximum flights of Indigo are operated from Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi.

5. Air India: Air India is a very own national carrier of India and was founded by J.R.D. Tata as Tata Airlines in 1932. It has its headquarters in New Delhi, and after the second world war, it became a public limited company. Afterward, it was renamed Air India and is owned by Air India Limited, a government-owned enterprise. With a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, the airline serves 94 international and domestic destinations. Air India has two sister companies Air India Express and Alliance Air, which operates in India and Asian destinations.

6. Air Asia India: Air Asia India started as a joint venture with AirAsia Berhad and Tata Sons. AirAsia Berhad has a 49% stake, and Tata sons have the remaining 51%. It started its operations on 12 July 2014 from Bangalore and has a market share of 6.5%. With a fleet of Airbus A 320-200 aircraft, it serves 24 destinations.

TYPES OF AIRLINES COMPLAINTS

Indian Airlines has seen one of the best growth among all airline industries of this world, but with all this growth and rapid development, our aviation sector has also experienced many kinds of turbulence.

Among 1000s of Indian airline companies, some of the most famous airlines such as AirIndia, Spicejet etc. have seen their customers regularly filing a complaint against them.

Some widespread airline complaints include rude behavior of staff, refund not given, and baggage lost. Apart from this, many airlines have faced aircraft turn-around times, which results in delays in flight for its passengers. Here are some common types of airline complaints:

1. Customer Service
In the past few years, many passengers of some highly reputed airlines have shared their experiences where they had to face the rude behavior of the airline's customer service representatives. Most passengers faced rude behavior, absent onboard services, and poor language skills from the airline's representatives in these kinds of complaints.

2. Flight Delay
In 2019, the Air Passengers Association president accepted that many airlines are facing aircraft turn-around time issues. These turn-around time issues are the main reason behind the delay of flights, which has left many passengers frustrated. Many top airline customers have reported that they were not informed about their flight's updated timings by the airline industry. Thus, failing to use emails or SMS services to inform their customers has made flight delays a pervasive and frustrating issue for consumers in almost all the major cities like Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai etc.

3. Booking and Refund
Another prevalent issue faced by many air passengers is related to airline industries' booking and refund conditions. The most-reported complaint under this category is the lack of flexibility in tickets where airline industries usually decline to refund the amount if something unexpected happens, such as illness or accident of a family member. Apart from this, many famous airlines are reported for being very slow in the procedure of a promised refund. Due to this, passengers have to struggle, and sometimes they are not appropriately compensated. Moreover in recent times of pandemic the most common consumer complaint was that passengers are not getting refund inspite of the fact that their flights were cancelled by the Airlines due to Covid-19 pandemic.

4. Lost Baggage
Lost baggage is one of the most frequently experienced and common issues faced by air passengers in Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi and Kolkata. The airline industries have ignored the inconvenience faced by their customers in case of misplaced luggage. For the past few years and indeed, it has left many passengers upset and disappointed. Many customers have claimed that their lost or misplaced luggage carried their valuables, urgent medications etc. but they have not been compensated appropriately by the airlines.

5. Cleanliness of Cabins
Many airline industries of today's time claim to be more aware of the cleanliness of their cabins, but many passengers of these airlines have actively reported their concern about cleanliness and hygiene. Apart from the poor condition of cabins, cleanliness of washrooms and dirty seats are also some of the most common issues faced by these airline industries' passengers.

5. Meals
Onboard catering has always remained a concerning area for airline industries, which directly results in the passengers' disappointment with the meals offered to them. Many passengers have been served the wrong food and the food quality has also remained low compared to passengers' expectations.

6. Hidden Charges
The bulk of customers' anger is aimed at low-cost airlines that have additional hidden charges that disturb the trip's budget. Such airlines have complicated ancillary fee rules which customers have to read.

7. Change of Aircraft
In recent years there is a trend among some customers where they specifically book preferred seats in preferred aircraft but they feel very dissatisfied when they come to know that they have to change the plane and their preferred seats have been changed.

How to resolve Airlines complaints?

1. File support ticket/send an email:
You can always contact airlines through their official website by going to their contact us section and by sending them an email. Customer service emails of some leading Airlines are:

Air India Express - customersupport@airindiaexpress.in
Spice Jet - custrelations@spicejet.com
Go Air - feedback@goair.in
Vistata - custrelations@airvistara.com

2. Call Customer support:
All these airlines have a 24*7 customer care number who are always willing to help the customer. To resolve these complaints, you can always call their toll-free customer service numbers. The customer care numbers of some of top airlines in India are :

Indigo Customer Care No. - 0124 617 3838
GoAir Customer Care No. - 1860 210 0999
AirIndia Customer Care No. - 1860 233 1407
SpiceJet Customer Care No. - 096540 03333
AirAsia Customer Care No. - 080 4666 2222
Vistara Customer Care No. - 092892 28888
AirCosta Customer Care No. - 1800-4250-0666

3. Report to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA):
If the Airlines is not willing to help or acting aloof at any stage then the consumer can file a complaint with a Government Agency that oversees air travel. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is the governing body overseeing air travel in India.

4. Send Legal Notice:
Consumers can send legal notices to Airlines in case it is unable to resolve his complaint. It is one of the efficient ways to handle the issue legally. Check below to know how to send a legal notice to Airlines?

Step 1: Firstly, get a legal notice drafted by a lawyer.
Step 2: Check it properly and make sure it is signed by lawyer.
Step 3: Keep a copy of it for future purposes.
Step 4: Send the legal notice to Airlines by registered post.
Step 5: Keep the slip or delivery report for evidence.

5. File consumer forum case:
Consumer forum deals with consumer complaints and you should approach the consumer forum if you feel that your rights as a consumer have been violated.

If Airlines is not responding to your complaints even after sending legal notice by a lawyer then you should file a case against it in a consumer court.

Here is how you can file a case in the consumer court?

Step 1: Intimate the aggrieved party via legal notice.
Step 2: Draft the consumer complaint
Step 3: Attach all the relevant documents and proofs to support your complaint.
Step 4: Select the appropriate court for filing the complaint.
Step 5: Pay the prescribed court fee that is required to be paid along with the complaint.
Step 6: Submit the case along with the affidavit & fees in the court.

Flying in an airline is often a memorable experience, but sometimes it can be memorable for all wrong reasons, and we have mentioned many of those reasons above. Once again to summarize, it is to be noted that the first point of contact should be the airlines itself. Customer satisfaction is as important to airlines as it is to other businesses.

The airlines have allotted separate ticket desks, lounges and baggage claim sections to help the consumers. If this does not solve the problem then the consumer should file a written complaint to the airline. This will act as a proof that you did something from your side in later stages and moreover put pressure on the airlines.

However if the consumer is still left stranded with nowhere else to go then the consumers can always file a consumer complaint at Voxya. We at Voxya, generally receive about 1000s of complaints related to these Airlines in a month.

So how do we actually resolve these airline complaints? We start a social media campaign and then send an email to the company to resolve the complaint amicably. Moreover if strict actions need to be taken then we draft a legal notice and send it to the concerned airline.

Most Common Issue Reported for Airlines Complaints

Tickets/Flights canceled

Boarding Issues

Refund not given

Staff misbehaved

Damaged Baggage

Fight delay

Changed Seat number

Amount deducted but ticket was not booked

Double amount charged

Fraud by booking agents

Lost baggage (Emirates Airlines) ^Open

This is with reference to the lost baggage of my husband Mr. Shreesh Jain on **th February **** from Tunisia Airport with Emirates Flight . My husband boarded the flight from New Delhi (India - Indira Gandhi International Airport) to Tunisia T...

May 19, 2023 by Geetanjali sharma jain

Rescheduling payment error (Air India) ^Open

My flight is on **th May i wanted to reschedule it to **th of may, i had made my payment through UPI and now the payment has been stuck ...

May 19, 2023 by Mariyam

Denied boarding (Air India) ^Open

We (total six members) had a flight from bengaluru to New delhi on **th april**** at *.** through flight no AI*** with pnr no *N*TVP. we all reached on time and a valid boarding pass had issued to us but we were denied boarding but the rest of ...

May 19, 2023 by Kamal majethia

Refund not received (Ixigo) ^Open

I booked a flight from ixigo on **th May, **** and within and hour I cancelled the booking due to change on plans. Since then I have been chasing ixigo to give me back my refund amount and everyday they ask me to wait for ** hours. It's been a ...

May 16, 2023 by Vinty Tanwar

Name change not done with same person (Bird Travels Private Limited) ^Open

The complain regarding flight booking issue about name change / correction As we booked the * family tickets from one of the provider of vietjet air on ** the december ****. The booking id was B**ACM which is from Mumbai to seoul and TRZMA...

May 14, 2023 by Dr Arun Wankhede

I did not get my train ticket cancel redund (Make My Trip) ^Open

I brought * tickets on a train ticket but it got cancelled because they did not get THE MONEY BUT MY MONEY WAS GONE. And here is the twist: it says that i recieved payment but NO i never got it. It said i could raise a complaint on the app but...

May 13, 2023 by Shwetha Sonu

Money not refunded (Gofirst) ^Open

I booked my flight from Goibibo platform for * adult passengers for GoFirst airlines and then I cancelled my flight on *rd May'** and choosed WALLET option for Quick and Hassel free refund process and they promised me to refund it within * Day ...

May 11, 2023 by ARUNVI singh

Bus service cancelled (Morning Star Travels) ^Open

The bus ticket was booked for **th May **** **:** PM, after waiting for more than * hours the service provider has cancelled the bus service and no alternative travel service is provided. ...

May 10, 2023 by Deepak

Refund not received since 1 year (Goibibo and Qatar Airways) ^Open

I had booked a Qatar Airways flight ticket through Goibibo for travel on **th May **** from Mumbai to Doha ( PNR: W***J*). And later changed the date for which I paid Rs *** directly to the airlines. For some personal reasons, I had to cancel m...

May 09, 2023 by Madhuri Jalan

Flight Rescheduling (Vistara Airlines) ^Open

The airlines preponed the connecting flight and not provided the appropriate solution. Without any other option, took the refund of the ticket, which was booked in advance with low fare. Now to get the new tickets will have to pay more than *...

May 07, 2023 by Biju Nair

Gofirst airline not refunding the money (Go first) ^Open

My flight is canceled by airline.according to rules if flight is canceled by airline then passengers should get full refund without any hesitation. I have paid grand total of RS.**** and they have refunded me *** rupees. I want full refund. ...

May 06, 2023 by Harshvardhan Sanjay Chaudhari

Charged by AGODA for a service that was not provided (Agoda) ^Open

Agoda Booking ID ********* I had made a reservation through Agoda and received a confirmation for two rooms to accommodate * adults at YADUVANSHI GUEST HOUSE, Varanasi from ** March **** to ** March ****. However, when I c...

Apr 27, 2023 by ALAPATI SUDHAKARA BABU

Ticket refund (Indigo Air lines) ^Open

I have asked that how can Indigo Airlines assist customer in case of an exigency. I was stuck in heavy traffic due to rainfall in Riyadh. What communication’ modes active in night ? I had tired all your communication channel available on I...

Apr 26, 2023 by Anurag Pall

Refund of Ticket value (GMVN) ^Open

I have booked Pawan Hans helicopter ticket online from Phata to Kedarnath on **-**-****.But through mobile message my ticket has been cancelled & till now I could not refunf my money.Ticket no: UKFT**************...

Apr 25, 2023 by Ghanashyam Tripathy

Agoada India Cashback rewards not received (Agoda india) ^Open

Agoda India has declared that I will get Rs **** cashback against a hotel booking as a cashback reward and it will be confirmed after ** days of checkout. Till date, the cashback rewards are showing in a pending state and they are claiming ...

Apr 22, 2023 by ABHIJEET ANAND

Wrong flight information (Agoda) ^Open

Dear Sir/Ma'am, I got the flight tickets booked via your app platform on November *th, **** from New Delhi to Goa as per the information available on the app. Returning tickets were coming as INR *,***.**/- per ticket. Basis the returning ti...

Apr 06, 2023 by Vishesh Saluja

Refund of tickets due to Thrillophilia team s fault (Thrillophilia) ^Open

The Thrillophilia team mis booked * tickets for SEA Aquarium, Singapore on the day that the Aquarium was closed. The trip was conducted in November **** and since then the Thrillophilia team has been non-responsive to multiple emails and call....

Apr 04, 2023 by Sayantika Ray

Ticket issued by OTA was not valid (Cleartrip) ^Open

I would like to express my deep dissatisfaction with the service I received while booking a flight from New Delhi to Amsterdam through Cleartrip. Despite the PNR being issued by Lufthansa, the flight was operated by Air India, which caused sign...

Apr 03, 2023 by Sukhdeep Singh

Complaint against Spicjet for cancelled flight (Spicejet) ^Open

I am writing to you because I had a booking with Spicejet for Bengaluru-Pondicherry with the PNR ED*QTW. The booking was originally for ** March-* April ****. On ** March ****, we revised the booking to make it ** March-* April **** after payin...

Apr 01, 2023 by Anjali Venugopal

Makemytrip not refunding my ticket (Makemytrip) ^Open

I had purchased a ticket for India from Brussels via the airlines Aeroflot during lockdown on **st March **** using makemytrip.com. All the flights were cancelled by the govt that time due to the COVID lockdown and hence we couldn't come to In...

Mar 25, 2023 by Dr. Pinaki Saha

Refund amount not yet credited (Travalook) ^Closed

I was booking my indigo ticket through travalook. Amount was deducted and then I was told that my ticket was not booked because of fare expiration. That was not my mistake it has been ** days . My refund has not yet been credited and they are s...

Apr 05, 2021 by VANDANA KAPOOR

Refund not credited (Goibbo) ^Closed

I have not received the refund of Rs ****/- for the flight ticket which I had booked. GoAir has refunded the amount to GoIbibo but GoIbibo has not refunded that amount to me. ...

Apr 04, 2021 by Rishi Munim

Airlines Ticket refund (Easemytrip.com) ^Closed

I booked a Lufthansa flight from EaseMytrip.com website last yr. Due to the Corona situation flight was canceled. EMT******** is my booking ID. I have been calling customer care for more than * months now for refund.. They give a standard reply...

Apr 03, 2021 by Vishal Peddigari

Refund for cancelled hotel booking not processed (Makemytrip india Pvt Ltd) ^Closed

I have cancelled the hotel booking (booking id- NH*************) for which amount **** is to be refunded. My bank doesn't support IMPS reversal. I couldn't find the option to change payment mode. Now the status is stuck and refund is not being ...

Apr 02, 2021 by Amrutha Alewoor

Refund not recieved (Travolook) ^Closed

I have booked flight ticket from Bangalore to Vishakapatnam on ** th March after * min they called and informed fare has been increased by ****, would you like to proceed or cancel it? then I said please cancel it they they told that the refund...

Apr 01, 2021 by Vijay

Refund not received in bank account (Make My Trip) ^Closed

I canceled my train ticket from Lucknow to New Delhi and a refund was initiated in my wallet immediately but when I asked this amount to be shifted to my bank account, it did. showed me refunded to the bank but till dates or after * months I ha...

Mar 31, 2021 by Shreya mishra

REFUND TAKEN OUT OF MMT WALLET WITHOUT CONSENT (Makemytrip india Pvt Ltd) ^Closed

AFTER ALMOST * YEAR OF FOLLOW UP. MAKEMYTRIP GAVE ME A REFUND, BUT THERE WAS DISCREPANCY IN MY REFUND SO I REACHED OUT TO MAKEMYTRIP ON TWITTER AND TOLD THEM TO REFUND THE CONVENIENCE FEES AS PER GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES WHICH THEY DIDN'T REFUND ...

Mar 30, 2021 by Mahendra Bindra

Travolook didn t initiate refund of cancelled booking (Travolook) ^Closed

I try to book the flight and paid rs. ****/- . Customer suppprt said booking has been cancelled due to price increase so they will initiate the refund but they didn't initiate refund uptil now....

Mar 26, 2021 by Kamal

Rejected my ICMR ACCREDITED LABORATORY RTPCR Report at Airport (Air India Express) ^Closed

Respected Sir, I booked a ticket in Air India Express Airline from Lucknow to Muscat with a confirmation number SZTPHX for Raju Vimal for *th March ****. The Airline staff at Lucknow airport denied my and some other passengers RT-PCR Report ap...

Mar 26, 2021 by RAJU VIMAL

Flight cancelled by airline (Make My Trip) ^Closed

"We regret to inform you that for your PNR K***RZ the following flight(s) has been cancelled due to Operational Reasons: Flight I*-**** (COK to HYD) on ** Apr '** ".this message came from air Asia after ** days from booking.i made booking thro...

Mar 25, 2021 by Police Nikhil Reddy

TRAVOLOOK REFUND NOT RECEIVED (rajeev agarwal) ^Closed

Ibook a tkt with ref id ref********* on ** dec **** but i got cancelled from their side and still i did not get the refund, * month passes refund is not creditted, many time contact the customer care every time says your refund send in your acc...

Mar 24, 2021 by RAJEEV AGARWAL

Airline Refund (Cleartrip) ^Closed

*. Ahmedabad to Vancouver - **k Date of travel **rd March **** Lockdown imposed Open ticket no reply I want a refund *. Ahmedabad to Russia - **k * tickets Date of travel - **th august **** No international travel allowed due t...

Mar 24, 2021 by Hichal shah

Travolook Refund (Travolook) ^Closed

On February *st I have booked a ticket from Kolkata to chennai with a reference number ********* and soon after I received a call asking for extra amount because of the fare changes and I asked for a refund on which they said I will be getting ...

Mar 23, 2021 by Alimun Nissa

Wrong refund amount received (Cleartrip) ^Closed

I booked a flight of total price **,*** on Cleartrip on **-Nov-**** which was scheduled for **-Nov-**** time - **:** but later i cancelled the flight on **-Nov-**** itself and received the cancellation confirmation from Cleartrip in mail and a...

Mar 23, 2021 by Ramesh Singh

Tickets cancelled but amount not refunded (Cleartrip) ^Closed

* international tickets Chennai to New Jersey USA were booked on Air India through Cleartrip. the Reference Ticket number ************* with PNR JV*QE and Ticket number ************* with PNR JV***. Cleartrip sent a mail on February **th **** t...

Mar 18, 2021 by Sundara Nagarajan

Air India Tickets cancellation Refund not received after 9 weeks also (Self) ^Closed

Booked Tickets to USA in February,****. Air India cancelled the tickets on *th January,**** and informed refund will be credited within *-* weeks. As on date * weeks completed and **th week is goingon, still not get the refund of Rs. ******/-. ...

Mar 18, 2021 by P L N Murthy

No refund of cancelled Indigo flight during May 2020 lockdown (PayTM) ^Closed

The Indigo flight from Bangalore to Dehradun on ** May **** was cancelled due to nationwide pandemic lockdown. The airline returned the refund amount to PayTM (from which platform the ticket was purchased) on July-August ****. The Paytm sent me...

Mar 18, 2021 by Sanjay J

Theft of jewellery from checkin baggage (Air India) ^Closed

my gold earring was stolen from my baggage on **th feb **** while teavelling from goa to new delhi...

Mar 15, 2021 by gourav kumar

Hotel booking through Yatra denied by Hotelier (Yatra.com) ^Closed

We had a Doctors’ appointment at Apollo Speciality Hospitals Vanagaram, Chennai. Therefore, we booked nearby hotel at Nestlay Rooms Vanagram, Chennai for the period **th March **** to **th March **** vide Booking Reference Number – ********...

Mar 15, 2021 by Shubhankar Das

Flight ticket not booked but money got deducted (Make my trip) ^Closed

I booked an online ticket using MakeMyTrip app on **th March, **** at *:** PM. Ticket booked for the flight with number AirAsia I* | *** from Goa (**:**) to Mumbai (**:**) through Mobikwik. The transaction has been successful on the end of the ...

Mar 14, 2021 by Vivek Kumar Singh