Telangana: Air India to pay Rs 85,000 over ticket cancellation

Hyderabad: The district consumer forum has ruled that Air India has to pay New Nallakunta resident T. Srinivasa Rao, Rs 85,000 as compensation for the cancellation of a ticket. Mr Rao approached Sky Speed Travels, a travel agency, seeking assistance in booking flight tickets for his son to travel to the US on August 27, 2015. His son was supposed to land on August 28 to complete the admission procedures for an MS programme.

The travel agency told Mr Rao that his son would be booked on an Air India flight from Hyderabad to New Delhi, and then from New Delhi to New York, the tickets for which would cost Rs 67,000. They also managed to persuade him to have his baggage insured at a cost of Rs 900. After having paid Rs 10,000 in advance, Mr Rao received a receipt of payment along with copies of the flight tickets via email. After verifying the tickets, he paid the remaining Rs 57,900 via credit card through Make My Trip, as suggested by the travel agency.

When he contacted the airline on August 26, a day before his son was supposed to leave, he was informed that the ticket had been cancelled. Since his son risked losing his MS seat if he did not complete the admission procedure on time, Mr Rao had to book him on another flight, which cost him a hefty sum.

Mr Rao filed a case at the consumer forum against three parties – Make My Trip, Sky Speed Travels, and Air India – seeking compensation for the cancelled ticket. At the hearing, representatives of Make My trip told the forum that every customer who conducted a transaction on the website received a unique Make My Trip booking ID. They said Mr Rao had failed to produce his booking ID, which had made it difficult for them to trace the transaction details. They alleged that since the complainant had produced an Air India booking ID before the forum, Make My Trip had no role to play in the matter.

Air India contested that there had been no deficiency in service on their part as they had made special arrangements to accommodate the complainant’s son on another flight departing on August 26, despite it being the peak season for travellers. The airlines claimed that Sky Speed Travels had asked, over the phone, for the ticket to be cancelled. But the forum observed that there was no material evidence to the effect.

The forum responded to Air India saying, “It is the responsibility of the airlines to find out on whose instructions the ticket was cancelled, and to whom the fare amount was returned after cancellation.” The forum observed that Air India had withheld the original fare amount after the cancellation of the ticket. The forum ruled in favour of Mr Rao. It asked the airlines to pay him Rs 67,900, with interest calculated at 9 per cent per annum from November 23, 2015, as well as an additional Rs 5,000 to cover the litigation costs.