Pushpa Girimaji
Last month, my flight from Bengaluru to Mumbai got delayed by six hours. Despite my repeated requests, the airline did not help me get an alternate flight, saying there were too many people wanting alternate flights and they were unable to accommodate all of them. So, I cancelled my ticket to Mumbai and New York and booked my tickets for the next day, incurring a huge loss on the international ticket. I was going to New York for a three-day conference where I was one of the speakers on the first day and I missed that too. Can I ask the airline to pay the cost of my new ticket to New York? Can I go to the consumer court and, if I do, what are my chances of winning the case?
You can certainly file a complaint before the consumer court, asking for compensation from the airline for the loss caused to you and this includes the cost of buying a new ticket (one way) and the loss of face and opportunity for missing the first day of the conference and not being able to deliver your speech. Even if the flight was delayed on account of circumstances beyond the control of the airline, it should have found an alternate flight for you and ensured that you reached Mumbai in time. In fact, as per the Air Passengers Charter drawn up by the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, for delays over six hours, the airline has to offer you an alternate flight within six hours or offer a refund.
Delay in the provision of service constitutes deficiency in that service and the consumer is entitled to compensation for the consequences of such delay, However, where such delay is caused by circumstances beyond the control of the airline, consumer courts have held that airlines are not liable. So, in order to escape liability, the airline has to prove that (a) the long delay was caused on account of circumstances beyond its control, and (b) despite its best efforts, it could not accommodate you on any other flight as all of them were full.
To explain this better, let me quote a recent order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in a somewhat similar case. This order has its origin in a delayed flight from Kolkata to New Delhi on January 1, 2014. The complainant, who was flying from Kolkata to New York via New Delhi, reached the airport on time to find that his flight, scheduled to depart at 9.50 am, was delayed because of the late arrival of an in-bound flight from Delhi, which was to go back (the passenger was booked on this flight). As his flight to New York was to take off at 1.55 pm, he requested the airline to put him and his wife on another flight leaving at 9 am, but they did not do so. Eventually, his flight took off at 12.30 am. By the time he reached Delhi, his flight to New York had left and he and his wife were stranded in Delhi for four days.
Holding the airline responsible for the delayed flight, failure to accommodate him on the earlier flight and help him and his wife get an alternate flight to New York at the earliest, he sought compensation for the financial loss and mental agony undergone by him. While the District Consumer Forum dismissed his complaint, the State consumer Commission awarded Rs 2 lakh. In its revision petition before the National Consumer Commission, the airline argued that the airline was under no obligation to accommodate them on another flight because their onward journey was on Virgin Atlantic, with which Air India had no code share agreement.
The airline also argued that the delay was beyond its control — bad weather delayed the flight from Delhi and again from Kolkata. And they could not accommodate the complainant and his wife on their earlier flight because it was fully booked. The Commission dismissed these two arguments on the ground that the airline did not show any evidence to prove these contentions and upheld the order of the State Commission. (Air India Ltd Vs Banibrata Poddar, RP No 1712 of 2018, order dated April 1, 2019)
Generally what are the passengers’ entitlements in case of a delayed flight?
I would suggest that you look at the Passengers’ Charter drawn up by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. It tells you about your entitlements vis-Ã -vis delays, flight cancellations and denied boarding. In fact, every air passenger should be aware of it.
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2H2zWBa
via Today’s News Headlines
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