Indian airlines struggle to cope with financial loss

Passengers of these airlines complain about refund issues on unannounced cancelations.

The pandemic had various Indian airlines, namely Spicejet and Air India, struggling to keep their profits above margin. With the international travel ban imposed by the Indian Government on March 23, 2020, Spicejet and Air India lost a large number of customers during peak travel season.

However, due to the uncertainty of the reopening of flights, the airlines continued to accept bookings on their online platforms as well as through third party travel booking sites. The flights that were available for booking from places like Dubai or Saudi Arabia were connecting flights with 10+ hours of layovers. This displaced the lost profits from certain international flights to increased domestic flights with inflationary rates.

Despite the restrictions, bookings were made by numerous international passengers. The bookings were confirmed by the airlines but were abruptly cancelled by the airlines a few days before the flights.

One such passenger talks to us about the predicament. “I booked a flight for my daughter and I to Mumbai from Dubai on the 18th of July and my payment was processed too. Just a few days before I was due to travel, they cancelled without warning. In total I spent around AED 2,500 on the flight.” The woman goes on to say that, “Since the flight was cancelled from their side, the refund was supposed to be made in full to my bank account as per the clauses. However, they transferred the money into a credit shell with their airlines and asked me to book my next ticket with this.”

Another passenger flying with Spicejet mentioned, “When I asked them for a full refund, they did not take any action. I had to threaten to take legal actions against the company. Still, even after several mails to the nodal officer, the money has not been refunded. It is now 2022 and I am still waiting for my money.”

Many other passengers also complained to the airlines about this via their call center, but the replies were uncertain or the calls were not able to connect due to the large influx of callers.

Mr. Ameen, a travel agent from India who connects with these airlines, said “The pandemic has hit the companies hard. In order to turn even half of their previous profits, airlines have to resort to such tricks. Along with that, Air India is also undergoing some merger issues with another conglomerate and is in a bad position. As this pandemic continues, we have started handling such bookings with a warning beforehand to avoid a repetition of these events.”

Travel to India from various international hubs is still suspended due to the variants of the Coronavirus but bookings for flights are still open, likely to be cancelled later. Passengers looking to fly to India must take necessary precautions.