88% air travellers believe India-based airlines cut corners, compromised on comfort

While planning a trip, flights are likely to be your top travel preference. After all, the aviation industry is booming! However, a survey shows that 9 out of 10 passengers believe that airlines based in India are cutting corners and hence, compromising on comfort. 

The findings come even as India’s domestic air passenger numbers have surged over the past few years. There has been a 9 per cent rise in November, with 1.27 crore passengers travelling in the month. Meanwhile, domestic air traffic is expected to grow to 371 million in 2023-24 and 412 million in 2024-25. As the market shows all signs of buoyancy, many airlines are also planning to acquire more aircraft. 

All the positive signs have, alas, not translated into positive feedback from customers. According to a survey by LocalCircles, there has, in fact, been a surge in the number of complaints from fliers about excessive fares, flight cancellation, flight delays, denying boarding, damaged or misplaced luggage, hike in in-flight food prices, changes in boarding gates silently, rude behaviour of staff at check-in counters etc.

With travel reaching a peak during the Christmas-New Year holidays, so have the complaints.

LocalCircles’ survey that received over 25,000 responses from air travellers across India, showed that 78 per cent of fliers faced at least one or more issues while flying in the past two years. When asked if they faced any issues while flying in the last 2 years, 78 per cent respondents acknowledged that they did, while 22 per cent said no.

Many respondents – 39 per cent – indicated that they faced problems regarding in-flight services like meals and entertainment, while 35 per cent said they faced issues with boarding and check-in procedures as well as baggage handling. 

As many as 30 per cent highlighted poor aircraft interiors like seats and entertainment systems, while 17 per cent expressed concerns about airlines not sharing information timely. Seventeen per cent respondents said they were hassled by flight delays, while 9 per cent spoke of staff behaviour inside the flight and at the airport. Remaining 9 per cent spoke of other issues. 

Other common issues reported were airlines overbooking and denying boarding to passengers who showed up a few minutes late. According to the survey, some fliers also said certain airlines directed those arriving a few minutes late to re-book themselves at the ticket counter thereby paying more money to the airline for a same day booking.

As much as 88 per cent believe that airlines based in India cut corners and compromised on passenger comfort in the last 2 years, with only 5 per cent disagreeing with this assessment. In the survey a year ago, this figure was 79 per cent, which has now surged to 88 per cent. 

The respondents said that the aviation regulator has been largely ignorant about the shortfalls in customer service that travellers experience regularly. 

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