A Pune-based writer recently took to X to express his disappointment with Air India Express after a horrific flight experience. Aditya Kondawar, who is also the vice president of a startup, was on an Air India Express flight from Bengaluru to Pune on June 24 when he faced several issues during his journey. He vowed to never travel with the airline again and said he would travel with another airline next time by paying double.
Narrating his ordeal, Mr Kondawar said his 9.50pm flight was delayed by two hours and when he boarded at 12.20am, it was “smelling and the seats were very dirty and full of stains”. He finally reached home at 3am after “sitting in several management talks”.
“Thank you for teaching me a very valuable lesson last night. Never and I mean this in all seriousness – I will never fly Air India Express or Air India in my life – I will pay 100% extra fare if needed but will travel by other airlines that arrive on time (only 2 other airlines are options anyway). Will travel by bullock cart but not your airline,” he wrote on X.
See the tweet here:
Mr Kondawar said, “I have great respect for the Tata Group and their leaders – I always expect perfection from them and honestly, this is a disaster!”
Air India Express later apologised, saying the delay in the Bengaluru to Pune flight was due to circumstances beyond their control. They also promised to “fix the problem immediately”.
The airline responded, “Hi Aditya! We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the disruption in your flight schedule. Please note that the incoming flight was delayed due to reasons beyond our control. We will look into the issue raised regarding your flight experience and fix it.”
In another comment, the company wrote, “We never want our guests to have such an experience, Aditya. Rest assured, we have noted your feedback and will look into it. Please consider this an isolated incident and give us a chance to serve you better in the future.”
Meanwhile, many others shared similar experiences with Air India Express. One user said, “They won't mend their ways. The situation has worsened after the acquisition. Earlier it was only running in losses. Now the service level has become pathetic.”
Another commented, “Standard response! They don't care about customer satisfaction. If they cared, these repetitive complaints wouldn't have arisen. The main problem is the ongoing PSU culture.”
The third one said, “Something even more horrific happened to me brother. The flight to Goa was delayed by 4 hours and then they found a bag in the back seat mid-flight and kept the flight in the isolation area of Dabolim airport for 3 hours. After that they kept our baggage in custody for another 1 hour for clearance. The whole day was wasted.”
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