Indigo and customer service, a match made in aviation hell
Indigo is India's low-cost aviation airline, with a 63.4% domestic market share as of July 2023. However, it is no stranger to fiasco and in the most recent one, Indigo was slammed by The Vaccine War director, Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri.
What
Vivek Agnihotri slammed popular airline Indigo claiming that he and his fellow passengers were stuck on the flight for over one and a half hours with no information, water or clean toilets.
He tweeted, "Boarded the aircraft at 11.10 AM. It’s 12.40. 1.30 hrs and not a word of information from the captain or crew. Flights get delayed all over the world but such indifference to passengers is a unique quality that @IndiGo6E possesses."
He further slammed the airline, saying that the toilets were filthy with tissue papers strewn all over the floor.
Check out the complete tweet here:
Indigo's response
Indigo quickly replied to Vivek's query and said, "Mr Agnihotri, we extend our gratitude for allowing us to address this on the call. We truly regret the delay which was due to ATC congestion at Mumbai airport."
Not the first fiasco
However, this is not the first time that Indigo has gotten into trouble. Check out some recent ones:
1. The missing seat
On November 26, Sagarika Patnaik, a resident of Nagpur, was shocked to see the seat cushion missing during her journey from Pune to her hometown on IndiGo flight 6E-679.
Her husband took to Twitter to complain about the issue.
#Indigo !! #Flight 6E 6798 !! Seat no 10A ! Pune to Nagpur!!! Today’s status … Best way to increase profit 😢😢…Pathetic … pic.twitter.com/tcXHOT6Dr5
— Subrat Patnaik (@Subu_0212) November 25, 2023
He also mentioned that his wife informed the crew about not having a cushion on her seat and she was forced to stand on the aisle when passenger boarding was on.
"She once again told the cabin crew. Boarding was still going on and she was forced to stand in the aisle, which was creating issues for other flyers. Finally, a crew member brought another cushion from a spare seat and placed it. How could such a seat cushion just vanish? This is certainly not expected from an airline brand like IndiGo," wrote Patnaik.
2. 'No flight that day'
- Now, let's rewind to a few days ago, when IndiGo flight 6E478 took off from Amritsar and was going to Chennai via Bengaluru.
- This incident took place on Sunday, November 19, around 9.30 pm, when six passengers, including two elderly individuals, who were supposed to fly to Chennai from Kempegowda International Airport, were misled by Indigo's ground staff.
- They were told that they would be accommodated on another flight departing to Chennai.
- However, it turned out to be a trick, as the airline allegedly didn't want to fly with only six passengers.
- With no alternative flights to Chennai that night, the passengers had to spend the night in Bengaluru, and their departure was rescheduled for the following morning, Monday.
READ MORE: IndiGo tricks 6 off Chennai flight saying they will go on the next. Plot twist: No flight that day
3. Left an elderly couple with a loaf of bread for the entire night
- On August 17, 2023, an elderly couple, Rajesh Shah, 64, who uses a wheelchair, and his wife, Rashmi Shah, 59, faced a 24-hour ordeal at the Istanbul airport.
- The couple, set to return to Mumbai, had a single PNR ticket for their journey.
- According to their daughter, both her parents had health issues; the father, having undergone multiple surgeries due to previous strokes, was wheelchair-bound, and the mother couldn't walk for long.
- The airport ground staff assisted her parents and took them to the boarding gate for their connecting flight to Mumbai.
- However, the flight had departed leaving behind the old couple and there was no flight the entire day.
- But, if you think that's all, nope. The couple was left stranded at the airport with just a loaf of bread and Coke, and had to spent the whole day sitting on the chairs at the terminal.
- Later, the airline issued an apology along with a boarding card for the couple to fly to Mumbai the next day.
READ MORE: IndiGo forgot old couple at Istanbul airport, then handed them a loaf of bread to last the night
Now, it is not only Vivek Agnihotri, who took to X to complain about Indigo and its plethora of problems.
Take a look:
- User @RajeevS60557457 on Twitter complained Indigo flight 6E7425 Udaipur to Rajkot had "shredded windows".
- Another, user @IndVenugopal pointed out that he was travelling from Delhi to Istanbul, and Indigo was actually switching off AC frequently, even after complaints from passengers.
Have you ever faced such issues with Indigo?