"Just No Empathy": Bengaluru Woman Slams Air India Over Rescheduled US Flight, Airline Responds

Bengaluru-based travel influencer Loveleen Arun has slammed Air India after the airline rescheduled her flight from Delhi to San Francisco, without prior notice. Originally set for August 18, the flight was pushed back to August 22 without prior notification. In a post on X on August 12, Ms Arun expressed her frustration at the airline's abrupt decision, highlighting the inconvenience caused to passengers. 

She also revealed that when passengers objected to the rescheduling, Air India proposed an alternative flight on August 17, but with a complex route: Delhi-Mumbai-San Francisco. However, many passengers, who were already in Bengaluru, requested a more convenient option to avoid a lengthy 10-hour layover in Delhi. Despite their pleas, Air India refused to accommodate their request, leaving them with no choice but to accept the inconvenient alternative.

''High-handedness by @airindia on another level. Delhi-SFO flight booked for 18th August has been arbitrarily cancelled and the passengers were offered to fly on the 22nd Aug!! When they said that is not acceptable they were given delhi-mumbai-sfo on 17th Aug. Passengers have pleaded that they will be in Bangalore and this would mean flying Blr - Delhi (having a 10-hour layover) and then taking delhi-mumbai- SFO and instead to give them Blr-mumbai-sfo which has been categorically denied by @airindia,'' Ms Arun wrote on X.

''First, you cancel flights at whim and then don't try even a slight bit to help your clients. Just no empathy whatsoever!! Money lost in booking, cancelling and re-booking domestic flights is another matter altogether,'' she added. 

See the post here:

High-handedness by @airindia on another level. Delhi-SFO flight booked for 18th august has been arbitrarily cancelled and the passengers were offered to fly on the 22nd Aug!! When they said that is not acceptable they have been given delhi-mumbai-sfo on 17th Aug. Passengers have…

— Loveleen Arun (@LoveleenArun) August 12, 2024

In response to her post, Air India issued an apology and requested her booking details to conduct a further investigation. However, in a follow-up post, Ms Arun described her experiences with Air India's call centre as unhelpful and ineffective, citing the representatives' inability to address her concerns or provide assistance with seat availability and ticket changes. 

Dear Ms. Arun, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by the disruption. Please help us with your booking details via DM to promptly look into this.

— Air India (@airindia) August 12, 2024

Social media users empathised with Ms Arun's frustration, sharing their experiences with cancelled international flights.

One user wrote, ''So many horror stories of airindia cancelling flights at last moment. I had a good experience last time I flown this route. But will think twice now before booking AI.''

Another commented, ''One of the things I find worse in these cancelled international flights are how long that large amount of money is stuck. Because you make a last min transaction, the fares are high and the refund takes long. And by the time the bill comes at the end of the month, it's for both the amounts and takes a toll if you are on a cash crunch issue.''

A third added, ''Sigh, seeing how often this happens with that particular airline is disheartening and annoying.''