The Hindu Business Line : No more lost ticket woes

Lost your ticket for that important flight? Well not to worry. All you need to do is put in a request to the airline staff for the issue of a fresh ticket plus a full refund.

A few weeks ago, one got sweetly conned and then mugged in the course of an early evening outbound departure at Mumbai, not far from the domestic airport. One lost a laptop case, eight airline ticket coupons, a box of toffees from S2, a few music CDs, a toilet case, fresh socks, a shirt and couple of books.Rules regarding loss of domestic air tickets used to be very simple in the good old days. No refund possible — ticket gone, money gone, period. It was a great favour to you if Indian Airlines would extend the benefit of the reservation in your name. Otherwise it was back to the queue. All this, in a day and age when a typical waiting list for a Delhi-Bangalore route or vice versa was at least 15 days (one A-300 in each direction, per day, via Hyderabad) and any interaction with the babus there could easily take a couple of weeks and would require ministerial intervention.

In the present case, one was surprised to find that both airlines (Air Sahara and Jet Airways) handled the issue of lost tickets very well. After identification and retrieving data, they required a copy of the police complaint. They then black-listed the stolen tickets. Jet Airways, after getting one's signatures on a couple of forms and indemnities, issued replacement tickets free of charge after a week. Air Sahara took a simple letter, asked one to buy replacement tickets because travel was urgent, and processed a refund in a week.

What was even better, was the further benefit of getting a refund on the excess taxes paid, since the Government had dropped the taxes in the ad interim period. To be fair, apparently, Indian Airlines also has a similar procedure in place.

In all cases, if you have to travel in a hurry, then the airline would re-issue a ticket on fresh payment, and you could prefer a claim against the lost/stolen ticket in due course. That's fair.

Some aviation Web sites

There are more than a few aviation enthusiast Web sites, and this column has previously mentioned http://www.airlinemeals.net as one of the best. Another excellent Web site is http://www.airliners.net; this carries a large database of aviation photographs and articles as well as discussions. The discussions here tend to vary wildly in content and quality, but surfing through them, you find that there is often a lot of wisdom and knowledge to be picked up and exchanged. Like many such Web sites, these were all free for visitors and browsers. Much of the references to India is of the usual moans and groans variety, placed there usually by a mixed bunch of NRIs and visitors.

However, of late, Indian aviation has been featuring quite prominently on aviation reports as well as Web sites worldwide in a very positive manner. Onboard services, especially on domestic flights, from the private sector Jet/Sahara but also factually including the resurgent Indian Airlines, have started featuring as a sought-after benchmark by vocal air passengers from the developed countries.

Simply put, all other things being equal, the people in Indian aviation have simply started making a grand mark on the skies and horizons of the world. Whatever the shortcomings of Air India and Indian Airlines in the past, the fact remains that with some effort, aviation people from India are now fast becoming the benchmark for excellence, just as they are in shipping, IT and banking, to mention just three fields where Indians have made a mark.

If you want to interact, then http://www.airliners.net is now a paid site. Visiting and browsing is free. However, should you choose to pay up, and then place your views onboard, be careful, world views are often buried under narrow, loud comments. Moderators are often immature, and the Web site operators seem to pass on confidential registration information, including passwords, with the utmost of flippancy and ease.

Tackling irate travellers

Fog at more than a few airports in India, especially at Kolkata and Delhi, caused large-scale havoc at many airports towards the end of December and early January. With aircraft, both domestic and international, being scattered as well as stranded, air passengers found themselves in strange situations as well as destinations. The brunt of passenger dis-satisfaction and angst is, as a regular feature, then directed at airline staff. So, what is it about weather-related delays that brings out the worst in some of us? Who are these people who get very upset? How would and should the authorities deal with this situation, bearing in mind that large percentages of air travellers bear delays with stoic common sense? After all, misbehaviour by a few, regardless of provocation, only makes it terrible for the larger number of peaceful passengers, because airline staff tend to spend all their time and energy dealing with the louder and obnoxious variety. That this is very unfair to those sitting quietly needs to be resolved, and soon. Otherwise even more people start screaming. It then rises exponentially.

Having analysed this for some years now, here are a few observations about who the screamers are, as well as possible solutions:

The self-important individuals, irritated by the fact that once at an airport, they are now part of a collection of disparate people. These are often the worst of the lot for the rest of us, and airport security needs to seriously consider denying boarding to such trouble makers. Or at least make them sign undertakings in exchange for return of boarding passes. The really important lot have made it to the VVIP lounges anyway. This is beyond an airline problem, and spotting as well as segregating such people needs to be done by the CISF and AAI.

The hungry and the thirsty, ready to forgive for a small snack and cup of hot beverage. This solution is often so simple. Instead of running huge hot buffet meals, airlines should consider handing out dry edibles such as sweets, salty biscuits, wafers, and coupons for tea/coffee. The costs can be set off by standardising meal services on board to snacks. It beats eating nothing all morning, and then having to be served stale breakfast 35,000 ft up in the air at 3 p.m.

The rare flyer, the single parent with young children, the elderly, and others, who are simply confused as well as at the end of their comprehension levels for a variety of reasons. These are the most difficult to handle, as well as the one category that actually deserves help. However, with airline staff already running around the first two types of travellers, these are the ones who are also the most neglected. Towards this, airlines could consider asking airport authorities to mark off specially segregated areas for such people. Or depute additional staff specifically earmarked for such passengers.

There must also be an effort on the part of airlines and airport authorities to provide specific information to passengers delayed due to weather, other than the standard "deeply regret" announcements. Very few passengers, if any, realise the already heightened stress and tension levels that impact not just the pilots, but also cabin crew, air traffic controllers, fire brigade personnel, security staff, technicians — everybody involved in getting an airplane safely on the ground and then turn around into the air again as soon as possible. With every element from nature working against smooth operations, and bunching straining resources, the last thing needed is an insensitive passenger.

Towards that, the airlines and others need to run a coordinated drive to help build perceptions on what a tough job they actually have on their hands due to such delays. Any ideas?

Response can be sent to life@thehindu.co.in

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