The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Jet Airways, Sanjiv Kapoor, has shared his experience of flying on an Air India flight with his son. In a long Twitter thread, he highlighted the issues faced during the journey and also offered some suggestions to the airline. His tweet was soon acknowledged by Air India, who assured the CEO of a better experience next time.
In his first post, Mr Kapoor shared that before boarding the Delhi to Bombay flight with his son, Shiv, the seat number was changed at the last moment. “Asked why? They say no idea, can't do anything, you should have checked in at the counters,” the CEO wrote.
Flying @airindiain with my son, AI863 DEL-BOM. Paid for seats 7DF. Web checked in. Got mobile BP. No bags, straight to gate. So far so good. However at gate told I have been moved to 18B. Asked why? They say no idea, can't do anything, you should have checked-in at the counters!
— Sanjiv Kapoor (@TheSanjivKapoor) August 13, 2022
Mr Kapoor added that it wasn't just him but the seats of a family on the flight were also changed. The family also had kids and were forced to sit scattered, he added.
Lots of uniformed staff flying on this flight. I was told there was nothing they could do to give me an aisle seat that I had paid for, or any non-middle. I suggested maybe they can re-seat staff. Voila, they typed furiously, and scribbled 6A in my BP. Not sure who was reseated.
— Sanjiv Kapoor (@TheSanjivKapoor) August 13, 2022
Sanjiv Kapoor wrote that while he had paid for an aisle seat, the crew said they could not give him one. Following this, he suggested some readjustments in the seating arrangement after which his seat was changed.
Lots of uniformed staff flying on this flight. I was told there was nothing they could do to give me an aisle seat that I had paid for, or any non-middle. I suggested maybe they can re-seat staff. Voila, they typed furiously, and scribbled 6A in my BP. Not sure who was reseated.
— Sanjiv Kapoor (@TheSanjivKapoor) August 13, 2022
Mr Kapoor shared that his son offered his seat to the family so that the mother could sit with the kids. However, the father still had to sit elsewhere.
My son finally offered his seat to the family so that at least the mother could sit close to her kids. The dad was not able to get a seat with family.
— Sanjiv Kapoor (@TheSanjivKapoor) August 13, 2022
While the experience might not be that pleasant for Mr Kapoor, he drew some learnings regarding seat re-assignments through it. “Rule #1: protect pax who have paid for seats, in same seat type. #2: Keep those in the same PNR together. #3. Ensure non-rev staff are not given seats paid for by revenue pax,” the tweet read.
Lots of lessons to be learnt here on how to handle seat re-assignments when aircraft changes. Rule #1: protect pax who have paid for seats, in same seat type. #2: Keep those in same PNR together. #3. Ensure non-rev staff are not given seats paid for by revenue pax.
— Sanjiv Kapoor (@TheSanjivKapoor) August 13, 2022
Mr Kapoor further said that he will discuss the takeaways from his experience with the Jet Airways staff as “it is these small things that make a big difference.”
All going to be part of briefing to @jetairways staff. We need to get the basics right. It is these small things that make a big difference. And my sympathies to gate staff and crew left to sort out the mess.
— Sanjiv Kapoor (@TheSanjivKapoor) August 13, 2022
Hours after the tweet was shared, Air India replied to Mr Kapoor and assured him to “serve better” in future. “We truly regret to know about your experience, Mr Kapoor. This is certainly avoidable. We appreciate Shiv's understanding of the situation and showing empathy towards the family. We are looking into the root cause to avoid recurrences. Hope to serve you better in near future,” Air India wrote in the reply.
We truly regret to know about your experience, Mr Kapoor. This is certainly avoidable. We appreciate Shiv's understanding towards the situation and showing empathy towards the family. We're looking into the root cause to avoid recurrences. Hope to serve you better in near future.
— Air India (@airindiain) August 13, 2022
Later, Mr Kapoor also shared some things that he liked about the flight. “Credit where it's due,” he wrote.
However credit where it's due: the flight was bang on time (actually early), 100% full, and the lunch in Economy class was good - catering has always been a strong point for Air India. Incidentally the last time I flew AI DEL-BOM, it was their last 747 flight, on March 10 2021.
— Sanjiv Kapoor (@TheSanjivKapoor) August 13, 2022
Meanwhile, Sanjiv Kapoor's Jet Airways will soon resume operations after remaining grounded for nearly three years.
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