I had booked a ticket in Air India flight number AI436. I was allotted seat number 8C. I went and sat on the seat which was broken and sunken. It was uncomfortable to sit: Union minister for Agriculture and Family Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Bhopal: Hours within Air India’s claims on its seamless journey union minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan said he had to travel on a broken seat and asked if it was not a cheating (by Air India).
Narrating the problem he faced in his journey on an Air India flight Chouhan wrote on microblogging site X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook, “Today I was to reach Delhi from Bhopal to inaugurate a Kisan Mela in Pusa (Also known as Indian Agriculture Research Institute), attend a meeting of National Mission on Natural Farming in Kurukshetra and hold discussions with the representatives of farmers’ association in Chandigarh.”
“I had booked a ticket in Air India flight number AI436. I was allotted seat number 8C. I went and sat on the seat which was broken and sunken. It was uncomfortable to sit”, said Chouhan in his post.
He further said, “When I asked the flight attendants why they allotted me a broken seat, they told me that they had informed the management earlier that this seat was not good and its ticket should not be sold. There were many more such seats.”
He said co-passengers offered him their seat to sit on in place of his but he thought why he trouble any co-passenger by taking his seat and, thus, he decided to complete his journey sitting on his allotted seat.
Chouhan said he had a notion that Air India’s services would have improved after Tata had taken over its management, but it turned out to be his illusion.
Chouhan said, “I am not worried about the discomfort in sitting but after taking full money from the passengers, making them sit on a bad and uncomfortable seat is unethical. Is this not cheating the passengers?”
He asked if Air India management will take steps to ensure that no passenger faces such trouble in future or it will continue to take advantage of the passengers’ compulsion to reach their destination early?
DGCA SEEKS AIR INDIA’S RESPONSE
Taking a note of the union minister’s complaint Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has reportedly sought response from Air India management.
AIR INDIA’S APOLOGY
Though Air India management’s response to DGCA is not known as yet, it offered apology to the union minister for the inconvenience he faced.
In its reply to the minister’s post on X Air India wrote, “Dear Sir, we apologize for the inconvenience caused. Please be rest assured that we are looking into this matter carefully to prevent any such occurrences in the future. We would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you, kindly DM us a convenient time to connect.”
AIR INDIA’S CLAIMS
Notably, earlier, on its X page Air India shared a post on Friday making an appeal to people, “Come aboard for a seamless journey via India! Travel between Bangkok and Amsterdam, with a quick layover in India. Book now on http://airindia.com, the Air India app, or through your travel agent.”
1.4 M VIEWS
The union minister’s post on X had about 1.4 million views till night and a good number of posts in support of his complaint but there were many posts to troll him.
An X user Parthana Singh said, “Air India has apologized but if someone other than you had written, they probably wouldn’t have replied. If they are taking money then they should ensure that whether it is a minister or a common citizen, their facilities should be taken care of.”
Another X user went to the extent of demanding reversal of takeover of the Air India saying, “Hon’ble
@narendramodi– request you to reverse the decision of @airindia’s takeover by @TataCompanies.Air India was better off than today, when GOI was managing it. It’s been three years and they’ve done nothing except big announcements.”
