'Customer care not taking calls': Go First flyers fume as bankrupt airline cancels flights

Frustrated Go First flyers have taken to Twitter and said the customer care department was not taking their calls after the airline filed for insolvency on Tuesday. They added that they must now shell out extra and book flights at twice the price with other airlines. Besides additional expenses and unresponsive customer care, flyers are also unsure about how much refund will they get, if any, in case of cancellations. 

A flyer tagged Go First, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and wrote that the airline cancelled his Amritsar-Bombay flight at the last moment. He also said that the customer care was totally unresponsive. 

The user wrote: "I have booked a flight from ATQ to BOM, on last moment Go Air cancelled the flight. Have to book another flight at 1.5x prices. The customer care is not taking calls nor are they processing refunds. Kindly look into the matter at priority". 

An irate flyer recounted his ordeal and said the Go First executive changed his flight booking from May 4 to May 5 and said that he would receive a mail in a couple of hours but he did not recieve it. The flyer added the airline's helpline was also unresponsive.

He wrote: "Hello Go Air spoke to your executive and changed my flight from 4th to 5th and said the mail will be given in a few hours and nothing came through and you guys have no decency to get a call back to us and we have people in hospital. No answer on helpline."

Another angry flyer wondered will he get the complete refund if he cancels his flight ticket for May 4. The user wrote: "Since flights are cancelled for 4th, I will cancel my ticket. Will I get refund completely. I got a mail from Go Air that no full refund, same cancellation charges apply to me. Frustrated". 

Another user wrote that he had to pay extra charges to reschedule his flight but the rescheduled one for May 5 was also cancelled.

Ethcrypto tweeted: "Very pathetic I booked 5 tickets!! Now it's cancelled, first I payed extra charges to reschedule now new date May 5 also cancelled!! Very unfair with customer!!"

Another user said their flight got cancelled during the COVID-19 period and they hadn't received any refund till date. The user tweeted: "I had booked a ticket in Go Air during COVID time. The flight was cancelled and they didn't pay me any amount till date". 

GoFirst flights cancelled 

GoFirst said in a notice on Tuesday night that it had also cancelled flights scheduled for May 5 apart from those slated for Wednesday and Thursday. 

The airline's notice read: "We regret to inform that due to operational reasons, Go First flights scheduled for 3rd, 4th, and 5th May 2023 have been cancelled. We apologise for the inconvenience". It further added that a full refund will be issued to customers via the original mode of payment soon. Customers are advised to stay in touch with the airline's customer care centre for updates on their flight and ticket refund status. 

Issues with Go First

Go First is facing a severe cash crunch since it grounded over half of its fleet due to troubles with Pratt & Whitney engines. Go First, formerly known as Go Air, has been running daily operations with 28 aircraft out of the aircraft's 57 fleet. 

Go First dues

The airline owes its financial creditors $798 million, as per its bankruptcy filing accessed by Reuters. Go First's financial creditors include Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank, Axis Bank and Deutsche Bank. 

The bankrupt airline said it has not defaulted on any of these dues. "However, considering the present financial situation of the corporate applicant, defaults to financial creditors would be imminent," the filing read. 

Also read: 'If Pratt & Whitney were to comply...': How Go First can return to full operations by Sept 2023

Also watch: Go First flights cancelled! Here's all you need to know after airline files for bankruptcy

Also read: More trouble for Go First! Six lessors invoke letters of credit, issue notices to airline