REPORT NO.

256

PARLIAMENT OF INDIA
RAJYA SABHA

DEPARTMENT--RELATED PARLIAMENTARY
Y STANDING COMMITTEE
ON TRANSPORT, TOURISM AND CULTURE

TWO HUNDRED FIFTY SIXTH REPORT

“Issues related to improving

improving consumers’ satisfaction of airlines”
(Presented
Presented to the Rajya Sabha on 04.01.2018))
(Laid
aid on the Table of Lok Sabha oon 04.01.2018
8)

Rajya Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi

January, 2018/ Pausa, 1939 (Saka)
 E-mail:rsc-tt@sansad.nic.in

Website:http://rajyasabha.nic.in
 PARLIAMENT OF INDIA
RAJYA SABHA

DEPARTMENT-RELATED PARLIAMENTARY
STANDING COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT,
TOURISM AND CULTURE

TWO HUNDRED FIFTY SIXTH REPORT

“Issues related to improving consumers’ satisfaction of

airlines”
(Presented to the Rajya Sabha on 04.01.2018)
(Laid on the Table of Lok Sabha on 04.01.2018)

RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT

NEW DELHI

January, 2018/ Pausa, 1939 (Saka)

 CONTENTS

PAGES

1. COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE (i)

2. INTRODUCTION (ii)
3. ACRONYMS (iii)- (iii)
4. REPORT 1- 12
5. OBSERVATIONS/CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS – 13-18
AT A GLANCE
6. *MINUTES

• To be appended at printing stage.

COMPOSITION OF THE DEPARTMENT-RELATED PARLIAMENTARY
STANDING COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT, TOURISM AND CULTURE
(2017-2018)

1. Shri Derek O’ Brien - Chairman

RAJYA SABHA

2 Shri Rajeev Shukla

3 Shri Praful Patel
4 Kumari Selja
5 Shri Narendra Kumar Swain
6 LA. Ganeshan
7 Shri Vinay Dinu Tendulkar
8 Shri Ritabrata Banerjee
9 Shri Rewati Raman Singh
10 Dr. Prabhakar Kore

LOK SABHA
11 Shri Ram Kumar Sharma
12 Shri Subrata Bakshi
13 Shri Ram Charitra
14 Shri Manoj Kumar Tiwari
15 Shri Rajeshbhai Naranbhai Chudasama
16 Shri Harish Chandra Meena
17 Shri Kunwar Haribansh Singh
18 Shri Rahul Kaswan
19 Shri Ramcharan Bohara
20 Shri Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy
21 Shri Rajesh Pandey
22 Shri Prathap Simha
23 Shri Vinod Chavda
24 Km. Arpita Ghosh
25 Shri Dushyant Singh
26 Shri Rajesh Ranjan (Pappu Yadav)
27 Shri Rakesh Singh
28 Shri Kristappa Nimmala
29 Shri P. Kumar
30 Shri K. C. Venugopal
31 Shri Shatrughan Sinha
SECRETARIAT
Shri J.G. Negi, Joint Secretary
Shri Swarabji B., Director
Smt. Monica Baa, Additional Director
Smt. Catherine John L., Under Secretary
Smt. Anamika Das Bora, Committee Officer
(i)
 INTRODUCTION

I, the Chairman, Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on

Transport, Tourism and Culture, having been authorized by the Committee to present
on its behalf, do hereby present this Two Hundred and Fifty Sixth Report on “Issues
related to improving consumers’ satisfaction of airlines”.

2. The Committee heard the views of the Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation;
Director-General, DGCA; Director-General, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security
(BCAS); Chairman, Airports Authority of India and CMDs/CEOs of Air Asia, Indigo
and Go Air on the subject in its meeting held on 20th November, 2017. The Committee
heard the CMDs/CEOs of Spicejet, Jet Airways, Air India Ltd. and Vistara in its
meeting held on 27th November, 2017. The Committee again heard the Secretary,
Ministry of Civil Aviation; Director-General, DGCA; Director-General, Bureau of
Civil Aviation Security (BCAS); Chairman, Airports Authority of India in its meeting
held on 4th December, 2017.

4. The Committee wishes to express its thanks to the officers of Ministry of Civil
Aviation; DGCA; Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS); Airports Authority of
India; CMDs/CEOs of Air Asia, IndiGo, Go Air, Spicejet, Jet Airways, Air India Ltd.
and Vistara for placing before the Committee, the material and information desired in
connection with the subject and for clarifying the points raised by the Members.

5. The Committee considered and adopted the Report in its meeting held on the
2nd January, 2018.

Derek O’ Brien
NEW DELHI; Chairman,
January 2, 2017 Department-related Parliamentary Standing
Pausa 14, 1939 (Saka) Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture

(ii)
 ACRONYMS

AAI - Airports Authority of India

ADF - Airport Development Fee

ATC - Air Traffic Control

ATF - Aviation Turbine Fuel

BCAS - Bureau of Civil Aviation Security

CEO - Chief Executive Officer

CISF - Central Industrial Security Force

CMD - Chairman and Managing Director

CSR - Corporate Social Responsibility

CUSS - Common Use Self Service

DGCA - Directorate General of Civil Aviation

IT - Information Technology

NGOs - Non-Government Organizations

PSF - Passenger Service Fee

SMS - Short Messaging Service

UDF - User Development Fee

(iii)
 REPORT

Even though the aviation industry in India has witnessed a growth, a boom in
flying has led to a surge in consumer complaints. From 606 complaints lodged against
airlines in September this year, the number shot up to 656 in October. While 30.5% of
the flyers blamed customer service, 16% pointed fingers at flight problems like sudden
cancellation and delay, 22% had issues with their baggage and 7.5% did not like staff
behavior. For an industry that is projected to have ushered in a new era of expansion
given its application of new technological inventions and growing emphasis on higher
connectivity, the civil aviation sector is fraught with unprofessional behaviour at all
levels of customer interaction and management. This has thrown up various challenges
with regard to keeping up with the increasing growth in the number of passengers. One
of the greatest challenges the aviation sector is presently facing is to maintain a healthy
interface between the passengers and the airlines staff. A part of that challenge is also
enhanced by the lack of Ministry mandated guidelines in a number of areas of customer
protection as well as lack of speedy redressal mechanisms for customer complaints. It is
in this backdrop that the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on
Transport, Tourism and Culture decided to take up the subject “Issues related to
improving consumers' satisfaction of airlines” for examination and report thereon.

2. In this connection, the Committee heard the views of the Secretary, Ministry of
Civil Aviation; Director-General, BCAS; Director-General, DGCA; Chairman, Airports
Authority of India on 20th November and 4th December, 2017. The Committee also
heard the CEOs/CMDs of IndiGo, Go Air and Air Asia on 20th November, 2017 and
the CEOs/CMDs of Air India, Jet Airways, Spicejet and Vistara on 27th November,
2017. A Questionnaire on the subject was forwarded to all the seven airlines and
written replies were obtained on various aspects of the functioning of the airlines.

3. Some of the major points discussed during the deliberations of the Committee
are:-

(i) Pricing of Air tickets;

(ii) Behaviour of Airlines staff;
(iii) Training of Airlines staff;
(iv) Problems at check-in counters;
(v) Quality of food served;
(vi) Seating space in the aircraft;
(vii) Unserviceable seats;
(viii) Cancellation charges;
(ix) Facilities for persons with disability;
(x) Frisking of passengers;
(x) E-boarding facility;
(xi) Clean toilets at the airports;
(xii) Complaints redressal mechanism;
(xiii) Immigration counters;
 (xiv) Airport infrastructure;
(xv) Erroneous practice of "non-uniform block time";
(xvi) Availability of slots / bilateral; and
(xvii) Corporate social responsibility.

Pricing of Air Tickets

4. The issue of exorbitant airfares charged during the festival seasons, holiday
seasons, natural disasters and political/social unrest was at the centre stage of the
deliberations of the Committee. The Members of the Committee also raised the issue of
charging high airfares by airlines to the Gulf countries during festival seasons and on
the eve of new year.

5. The Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation while deposing before the Committee,
submitted to the Committee that airfares are not controlled by the Government, but
varies with the market forces of demand and supply and that this is a global practice in
the aviation industry.

6. The Committee was informed that the domestic airline pricing runs in multiple
levels (bucket or RBD) which is in line with the practice followed globally. The lower
fare in the fare bucket is available for advance booking much earlier. As time lapses
and date of journey approaches closer, the fare in higher side of fare bucket is made
available as per the respective airline policy. Advance Purchase Scheme offers low
fares when tickets are booked 90 days, 60 days, 30 days, 15 days &7 days prior to
departure. Under the immediate purchase, fares are offered in multiple levels or buckets
(up to about 14 levels) and the fares move to higher buckets as the lower ones get filled.
One of the CEOs informed the Committee that as regards pricing of air tickets, it is a
deregulatory environment and the airlines are free to price anything. Theoretically,
there is no cut off price. The tickets are priced at cost plus basis.

7. The Committee is of the view that the pricing mechanisms applicable in the
developed countries may not be suitable for India. The Committee also notes that
even after a 50% reduction of the ATF prices, the airlines have not passed on the
benefit of reduction in ATF prices to the consumers.

8. The Committee notes that around festivals and for bookings made closer to
the date of travel, some airlines are charging more than ten times of the advance
booking fare. The Committee observes that this is arbitrary. A deregulatory
environment does not mean unlimited freedom of exploitation. Windfall profits
cannot be taken from the hapless passengers especially from those working class
passengers who are travelling in the Gulf sector. The Committee believes that the
Ministry of Civil Aviation has a social responsibility towards its citizens. Economic
viability cannot be the only criteria for decision making. The Ministry of Civil
Aviation, though aware of the rampant exploitation, is not showing any proactive
role in regulating the airfares. The Committee, therefore, recommends the
Ministry of Civil Aviation to consider fixing an upper limit of the air tickets for
every sector.

Behaviour of airlines staff

9. The Committee noted that recently there were many incidents of

manhandling, discourteous and rude behavior by airlines staff, both ground staff
and cabin crew. Some of them were reported in the media and a large number of
them went unreported. While narrating some of the incidents of misbehavior in
airlines, especially in Indigo, majority of the Members opined that the attitude of
airlines staff is very condescending, often unco-operative and on many occasions,
downright rude.

10. As one Member of the Committee pointed out "the attitude of airlines staff is as
if they are on some high ground and the passengers are like herds, as if passengers are
uneducated and illiterate ones who do not know anything, who have not flown before.
Occasionally, the airlines staff murmur “please” and “thank you” but beyond that,
their attitude is rude. The ground staff is worse than the cabin crew of the airlines".

11. The Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation assured the Committee that any
employee of an airline who is found to be indulging in some kind of unnecessary and
violent behavior may be debarred from entering into any of the civil aviation airports as
an employee. The Committee opined that merely taking strictest action against the
employees does not absolve the airline of its guilt of the incident.

12. The Committee observes that the problems affecting the airlines are not
personal; it is institutional. An institution like Indigo has to develop a consumer
friendly approach in dealing with their passengers. The Committee believes that
being a leader in market share, Indigo needs to look inward and find out the
reasons for the discourteous attitude and rude and indifferent behavior of their
employees, whether it is their cabin crew or the ground staff. The Committee
emphasizes that the arrogant behavior of employees should stop.

Training of Airlines staff

13. The Committee had detailed interaction with the CEOs of various airlines on
various trainings imparted to different categories of officials and employees. The
Members of the Committee unanimously emphasized upon the need for providing
proper training to the airlines staff especially on soft skills and passenger handling. As
regards the budget for training, airlines have indicated budget allocation ranging from a
few lakhs to Rs.10 crores. However, Indigo, Jet Airways and Go Air have not given
the details regarding their budget for training.
14. The President and whole time Director, IndiGo, while deposing before the
Committee, informed the Committee thus :-
 “We have a challenge of getting talented people in consumer facing
industry. For a country of 130 crore people, one shortage we have is
talent. We have to just hold up the mirror to ourselves. We have lot of
young people with so many degrees but the talent we require is not
there. Indigo is hiring people from Tier-II and Tier III cities and
creating jobs there. Those who studied in Government schools or
mohalla / village areas cannot be trained to speak fluent English within
a span of four to five weeks. Indigo is investing more and more on
training”.
15. The Committee totally disagrees with the proposition that the students
coming out of Government Schools and colleges cannot be trained. Our
Government schools and colleges produce the best students of the country and we
have a duty to nurture and promote such students to achieve their full potential.
If a particular airlines has grown exponentially, they should deploy a
proportionate amount to the training of their staff instead of misbehaving and
manhandling the passengers or blaming the youngsters from Tier II and III cities
and Government schools.

16. The Committee, keeping in view the recent incidents of misbehavior of

airlines staff including the manhandling of a passenger by staff of Indigo Airlines,
emphasizes on the need for soft skills training and functionality training for all
employees across airlines.

17. The Committee desires that the employees be provided training in order to
effectively manage crisis situations such as delay in flight take-off, delay in
landing, diversion of flights etc. Further, training should also be given to the
airlines staff to sensitize them to meet the needs of persons with disability.
Intensive training should be given to the crew and staff to extend courteous and
decent behavior to the passengers. The crew should be trained to be more polite
than saying ‘please’ or ‘thank you’. The passengers expect a civilized behavior
from the cabin crew and the ground staff as the salaries to the cabin crew and
ground staff are paid from the income earned from the passengers.

18. The Committee notes that the training modules, training schedules, content
of training, duration of training, budget allocation for training etc. varies from
airline to airline. In some of the cases, the training programmes are non-existent
or just for namesake. The Government should come up with a training
programme suitable to Indian conditions emphasizing on the courteous behavior
to the passengers. The Committee underlines the need to standardize the training
programmes of all the airlines. The Committee recommends that the Government
should formulate the guidelines for such training programmes applicable to all the
airlines, at the earliest.
Check-in Counters

19. During the deliberations of the Committee, some Members drew attention to
the problem of unmanned check-in counters and the long queues at the check-in
counters. The airlines have informed the Committee that in addition to the normal
check-in at the airport counters, there are facilities like Web check-in, mobile check-in,
Tele check-in and kiosk check-in etc. for the passengers. Some of the airlines have also
submitted that their check-in time to issue a boarding pass is less than 10 minutes.

20. The Committee notes that the check-in process and collection of luggage
are cumbersome and time consuming. What the passenger wants is a quick check-
in, without long queues and a smooth process of security check. Despite the huge
claims of airlines regarding the check-in process, the Committee is compelled to
observe that the check-in counters are in a mess, especially those of the low cost
airlines such as Indigo.

21. The Committee has noticed reports of some private airlines creating long
queues at the check-in counters to delay the process of check-in so that passengers
miss their scheduled flights. This compels them to buy tickets at exorbitant prices
to travel in the next available flight. The Committee also notes that airlines are
overbooking flights and creating later, artificial situations to deny boarding to the
confirmed ticket holders. Many a times it has been noticed that adequate number
of personnel are not posted to man the check-in counters.

22. The Committee recommends that arrangements be made to ensure that the
passenger does not spend more than 10 minutes in a queue at the check-in counter
to get a boarding pass. Whenever there is rush of passengers, additional staff
should be deputed at the check-in counters. AAI and the other airport operators
may provide adequate number of check-in counters and self checking kiosks at the
airports. The Government should also ensure that if a passenger is denied
boarding due to rush at the counter or due to overbooking, the passenger may be
compensated adequately and he/she may be sent in an alternative flight.

E-boarding facility

23. As per the background note furnished by the Ministry, E-boarding facility has
been approved at Hyderabad Airport to reduce the delays and inconvenience to the
passengers. Other airports are also conducting similar trials for implementation of e-
boarding. Hyderabad airport has also started express security screening for passengers
with only hand baggage. BCAS has also given in-principle clearance for biometric
based entry and passage through security check points and boarding at Bengaluru
Airport.

24. Also, instructions have been issued regarding access of passengers on the basis
of e-ticket / web / kiosk check-in boarding passes. E-tickets include soft copy/image of
such tickets in smart phones, tablets PCs or laptops for gaining access into the terminal
buildings through departure entry gates. The image of the e-ticket thus produced by the
passenger on electronic device should be the same as issued by the aircraft operators.
SMS or partial information pertaining to the ticket shall not entitle the passenger to gain
access to terminal.

25. The Committee takes note of the steps taken by the Airport operators to
provide e-boarding facility at certain airports to reduce waiting time for baggage
check-in and security clearance. The Committee desires that e-boarding facility
should be made available to passengers at all airports.

Quality of food served

26. Many Members of the Committee pointed out the need to ensure better quality
of food served in the airlines. They also opined that the menu offered should be
changed periodically. In some cases, the food offered is awful. The CEO of Jet Airways
admitted to the Committee that in recent times, the quality of food served in Jet
Airways has deteriorated and assured that it will be improved in a few weeks. There
were less complaints about food served by Spice Jet, Air Asia and Air India. Everyone
liked the food served by Vistara.

27. The Committee was informed that there are great difficulties in getting
water and food in low cost airlines especially in Indigo. In Indigo, the food has to
be pre-booked and on board, if someone demands food, they refuse to provide the
food even to those who are diabetic and suffering from other medical conditions.
A passenger has to report to the airport counter 2 hours before the departure time
and one has to spend a few more hours in the flight without food and water and it
is a horrible thing to face. The Committee, therefore, recommends that Indigo
and other low cost airlines should take adequate steps to ensure that food is
available to the passengers on demand especially to those who are having some
medical conditions.

28. The Committee notes that the main difference between a low cost carrier
and the full cost carrier is the serving of food. It is unacceptable for airlines to
serve unsatisfactory food after having charged customers for it. Every airline
should maintain the highest quality of food and they should also change the menu
occasionally instead of keeping a cold sandwich in their menu throughout the
year. The Committee recommends that random audits of the catering kitchens
should be held to ensure quality, quantity and hygiene and that feedback from
customers may also be taken into account. The cost of food may be separately
printed on the ticket.

Seating space in the aircraft

29. The Committee raised the issue of inadequate seating space and inadequate leg
room in the aircrafts. Air India informed the Committee that their seats are wider and
have enough leg space. However, many of the other airlines including the full service
carriers are having smaller cramped seats. Due to their profit motive, the airlines are
not providing adequate leg space to the passengers. The Committee desires that
the Ministry of Civil Aviation may prepare a guideline laying down a minimum
space standard in respect of seats and legroom.

Unserviceable seats

30. The Chairman and the Members of the Committee has pointed out that
unserviceable seats are found in many aircrafts including those in business classes,
flying in International sectors. If unserviceable seats are offered to passengers,
especially in long journeys, it detrimentally affects the comfort of the passengers.

31. The Committee has been informed by all airlines that no unserviceable
seats are being offered to passengers. However, the Committee has noted that
unserviceable seats are in fact offered to passengers and complaints made to the
cabin crew in this regard have gone unheeded. The Committee noticed that
though all the airlines have a policy of not offering unserviceable seats, the
practice is that these are silently offered to the unsuspecting passengers. It is a
cruel joke to offer unserviceable seats even to Business
Class passengers. Due to their busy schedule, the passengers are compelled to
travel by availing the unserviceable seats. The Committee observes that it is a
deficiency of service by service airlines. The airlines should take an initiative to
ensure that unserviceable seats are either replaced or repaired at the earliest.
Monetary compensation may be given to the affected passengers who are offered
the unserviceable seats. The Government should formulate a policy to restrict the
use of unserviceable seats.

Cancellation Charges

32. Many Members of the Committee raised the issue of high cancellation charges
and rescheduling fees levied by the airlines.

33. The Ministry of Civil Aviation informed the Committee as follows:-

i) Refund provisions:

• 07 days to the account of credit card holder in case of credit card

payments.
• Immediate in case of cash transactions.
• 30 working days in case ticket is purchased through travel
agent/portal.
• Option of holding refund amount in credit shell by the airlines to be
the prerogative of the passenger and not a default practice of the
airline.
 ii) Airlines to refund all statutory taxes and User Development Fee
(UDF)/Airport Development Fee (ADF)/Passenger Service Fee (PSF) in
case of cancellation/ non-utilisation of tickets/no show. This provision
shall also be applicable for all types of fares offered including
promos/special fares and where the basic fare is non-refundable.
iii) Airlines shall not levy cancellation charge more than basic fare plus fuel
surcharge.
iv) Airlines shall not levy any additional charge to process the refund.
v) Airline shall not levy any additional charge for correction in name of the
same person, when error in name spelling is pointed out by the
passenger after booking of ticket.

34. As per Air Asia's written reply, cancellation fee is charged at Rs.2200/ which is
one of the lowest in the industry keeping in line with our tagline “Everyone Can Fly”.

35. Air India has informed the Committee they have different charges for changes,
cancellation and no-show for different class and category of tickets. In some cases, the
tickets are non-refundable and in other cases, they may charge up to Rs. 2500/-

36. Go Air, in its written reply has stated that they have a flat cancellation fee.
However, if cancellation is less than 2 hours before departure, full fare is forfeited.

37. In its written reply, IndiGo has stated that they charge a minimum of Rs.3000/-
upwards in domestic sector and Rs.3500/- upwards in international sector. The
cancellation may be allowed only upto 2 hours prior to the scheduled departure for the
domestic sector and 4 hours prior to the departure for the international sector.

38. Jet Airways, in its written reply, has not given much details about the
cancellation charges.

39. In the written reply submitted by Spicejet and Vistara, they have informed the
Committee that they are charging Rs.2000/- upwards for change, cancellation and no-
show.

40. The Committee notes that cancellation charges levied by private airlines
are arbitrarily set. There is no uniformity or minimum standards to impose
charges for rescheduling, cancellation and no-show. Attractive offers by private
airlines veil the fact that passengers are charged the entire ticket amount if they
want to cancel the tickets. The airlines must be restricted to charging not more
than 50% of the base fare as cancellation charges. The tax and fuel surcharge
collected should be refunded to the passengers on cancellation of tickets. The
Committee desires that DGCA may conduct periodic checks to ensure that the
cancellation charges are not a burden on consumers.
41. The cancellation charges may be printed prominently in the ticket itself
and not as a fine print. Norms for cancellation should be given more publicity
through posters and websites.

Persons with disability

42. The Ministry of Civil Aviation informed the Committee that adequate
instructions have been given to the Airlines and the Airport operators to facilitate the
travel requirements of persons with disability. However, the Committee has noted that
the airlines are not giving adequate support and priority to the differently abled persons.
Therefore, the Committee recommends the Ministry to reissue guidelines
reiterating already existing guidelines, hence ensuring strict compliance by all the
airlines. If needed, the schemes and guidelines may be strengthened for the smooth
travel of differently abled persons.

Frisking of passengers

43. Some Members of the Committee pointed out that the CISF personnel deployed
at the airports should be more passenger friendly. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has
informed the Committee that BCAS has issued instructions for guidance to CISF / State
Police to facilitate proper and courteous screening of passengers. Guidelines have been
issued for touch free frisking with hand gloves and private screening area for
passengers. Publicity in BCAS website for smart travel tips to passengers has been
circulated. CISF has been requested for imparting proper training in soft skills to their
screeners for dealing with such delicate issues as the motto is to carry out the security
check process efficiently keeping the dignity and privacy of the passenger in mind.
Specific instructions have been issued to CISF to ensure that due courtesy is extended
to Hon’ble Judges in High Court of India and Hon’ble Members of Parliament.

44. The Committee notes that even after the existence of guidelines of BCAS,
there are instances of misbehavior by CISF and other security personnel. The
Committee observes that the Government needs to be proactive to face the
emerging challenges of the growth of Civil Aviation Sector. The recent incidents of
misbehavior definitely show CISF in poor light and prove that the training
programmes are insufficient and more needs to be done. The Committee,
therefore, recommends that the Government should reevaluate the soft skill
training programmes of CISF and security personnel and motivate them to be
passenger friendly.

Clean Toilets at the airports

45. Many Members of the Committee pointed out that the condition of toilets at
various airports is appalling and in an abysmal state.

46. Poor experiences in the toilets are often very strongly linked to passengers’
overall satisfaction. Having enough washrooms in the right places and keeping
the washrooms clean should be the priority of the AAI and Airport operators.
The toilets should be the statement of quality. The Committee recommends that
cleanliness should be given utmost importance by AAI and various other airport
operators and they should take effective steps to ensure that toilets at the airports
should be maintained in a clean and tidy manner. The Government of India
should also monitor the quality of the toilets of all the airports.

Complaints Redressal Mechanism

47. Regarding complaints redressal mechanism, the airlines are using websites,
mobiles, emails and feedback forms etc. to address the complaints of passengers. Many
of them are just to comply with the requirements / guidelines of the regulatory
authorities. It is good that they are using various IT platforms to address the grievances.
However, some of the airlines are taking more than 3 days just to acknowledge the
complaints even in an IT equipped environment.

48. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has developed an Air Sewa Application
which can be availed through Web portals and mobile phones, with an aim to help
the air travelers. It contains a module for receiving, tracking and monitoring of
grievances with the stakeholders. Around 20,000 people downloaded this
application and the Ministry has received 6,000 complaints from passengers
during the last year. The Committee is surprised to note that in a country where
there are more than 16 crores passengers using air services, just 20,000 people are
using the application developed by the Civil Aviation Ministry. It should be
improved and the App may be advertised to ensure that every passenger is aware
of the existence of the App. Every grievance redressal mechanism of the Airlines
may be integrated with the Air Sewa App of the Government so that better
monitoring can be done.

49. During the deliberations of the Committee, the CEO, Jet Airways was
requested to address the issue of customer complaints. The Committee also notes,
through personal anecdotes of Committee Members, the deliberate reluctance of
Jet Airways to note customer complaints. The Committee is of the view that a
proper complaints redressal mechanism should be in place with all airlines. The
complaints received from the customers should be redressed in a time bound
manner. It should be ensured that the complaints have been redressed to the
satisfaction of the customers. The details of the complaint redressal mechanism
should be adequately advertised and printed bold in the tickets of the airlines.

Immigration Counters

50. The Committee could understand that the behavior of persons deployed at the
immigration counters in the airports is far from cordial.

51. The Committee notes that the officials of immigration counters have no
right to be rude and discourteous. They are just Government servants regulated
by the set of rules and regulations. Their main role is to facilitate the passenger's
journey and not to misbehave. The Committee recommends that soft skills
training be imparted to the persons at immigration counters given their direct
dealings with foreign tourists.

Airport infrastructure

52. The Committee understands that the exponential growth in passenger traffic has
led to saturation of airports. With the unveiling of the National Civil Aviation Policy
and Regional Connectivity Scheme, the airlines industry has got a fillip which resulted
in increased air traffic volumes.

53. The Committee was informed by all the private airlines that urgent capacity
enhancement is needed at all key airports. It is getting next to impossible to add any
flights due to lack of slots and parking slots. The number of Immigration / Emigration
counters, check-in counters and CUSS kiosks etc. need to be increased. Upgradation of
airport infrastructure and adoption of technology on various activities of the airport
operation may be given top priority.

54. The Committee is aware that airport infrastructure has a major role to
play in extending amenities and conveniences to the passengers. The Committee is
of the view that there is a need for adequate technology driven infrastructure in
our country to enable airlines to improve their on-time performance.

55. The Committee realizes that so far, the growth of airport infrastructure
has not been commensurate with the growth in the number of passengers. Keeping
in view the pace at which Indian aviation is growing, the Committee recommends
that AAI and other Airport Operators should bolster their efforts to build new
infrastructure and to expand existing airports to enhance the facilities available at
airports. Decongesting the airports, decongesting the runway and the airspace
should be the top priority of the Government. Airport facilities need to be
upgraded on an urgent basis.

Erroneous Practice of “non-uniform block time”

56. It was brought to the notice of the Committee that the flying time of Indigo from
Indore to Delhi is two hours whereas in other airlines it is only one hour thirty five
minutes flying time. Indigo is adopting a longer flying time in various sectors of their
flights just to bolster their ontime performance. When a flight arrives at the landing
station the captain announces “we are very happy to announce that we have arrived
earlier than schedule but no landing permission from the ATC due to congestion”. The
Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation informed the Committee that the ‘block time’ is
the time usually the aircrafts take to fly a particular sector but many airlines are not
following it. But the aircrafts are permitted to use the “non-uniform block time” i.e.
long duration flying time (more time in air) to cover a particular sector due to lack of
slots at the airports. They may hover around the destination stations for some time. The
non-uniform block time i.e. longer duration travel time may be shown in the flight
schedules but the passengers may not be aware of the nitty-gritties involved and they
are made to believe that the flight is arriving before time. The Government has
informed the Committee that they are aware of the wrong practice and that they are
instructing all the airlines to follow uniform block time.

57. The Committee notes that due to ‘non-uniform block time’, the passengers
often have to spend more time on board the aircraft. The practice of ‘non-
uniform block time’ is obviously not desirable. The Committee, therefore,
recommends that all the airlines may follow uniform block time. The Committee
also recommends that a co-ordinated effort should be made by Air Traffic
Control, Airports Authority of India, Airport operators and Airlines for
maintaining punctuality in air services.

Availability of slots/ Bilaterals

58. The representatives of all the airlines who deposed before the Committee
highlighted the lack of availability of adequate landing slots. They stated that while
they are not given adequate landing slots at Dubai, foreign airlines are given landing
slots in India.

59. Traffic rights for operation in international airlines are determined through
bilateral air services agreements concluded with foreign countries on reciprocal basis in
which the balance of opportunities and benefits are the key determinants. The
Government decides the quantum of seats to be allocated to various foreign as well as
domestic players.

60. The Committee notes that in granting traffic rights, home carriers’
interests, whether Government owned or private, are always considered. The
incremental capacity generated by the bilateral could not be used by the home
carriers due to the limitation of non-availability of landing slots and parking slots
in foreign destinations. The Government which is aware of the limitations,
knowingly and willingly, allowed incremental capacity to foreign airlines whereas
the home carriers are left in lurch. The Committee, therefore, recommends that
all bilateral rights may be directly linked with the slots being given to the Indian
carriers in foreign destinations. The Committee recommends that the Ministry
should thoroughly examine this issue of making slots available to the Indian
airlines and ensure that airlines of India get fair allocations.

Corporate Social responsibility

61. The Committee was informed that protection of environment, promotion of

clean energy, Green initiatives, collaborating with NGOs to facilitate community
intervention, promotion of sports, helping the underprivileged sections of the society
etc are some of the CSR initiatives undertaken by various private airlines. The
Committee is of the view that the airlines should strike the right balance between
profit making and social responsibility. The Committee, therefore, appreciates the
various CSR initiatives undertaken by airlines and expects that they should do
more.

General Observation

62. The Committee notes with dismay that the Government has adopted the open
sky policy without laying down the necessary guidelines, rules and regulations to
control the activities of the airlines. The consumers are at the receiving end and at
the mercy of the private airlines for any kind of services. The Committee is not
clear who fixes the standards and what are the standards, be it training, quality of
food, amenities to passengers, behavior of airlines staff, quality of seats,
cancellation charges, pricing of air tickets etc. The Committee desires that the
Government should wake up from its slumber and perform their duties to save the
airline passengers from the vices and to make the air travel an enjoyable
experience for them. Civil Aviation and Airlines industry is service industry and
any service industry has to be user friendly and customer friendly.

*****
 OBSERVATIONS/CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS-AT A GLANCE

The Committee is of the view that the pricing mechanisms applicable in the
developed countries may not be suitable for India. The Committee also notes that
even after a 50% reduction of the ATF prices, the airlines have not passed on the
benefit of reduction in ATF prices to the consumers.
(Para 7)
The Committee notes that around festivals and for bookings made closer to
the date of travel, some airlines are charging more than ten times of the advance
booking fare. The Committee observes that this is arbitrary. A deregulatory
environment does not mean unlimited freedom of exploitation. Windfall profits
cannot be taken from the hapless passengers especially from those working class
passengers who are travelling in the Gulf sector. The Committee believes that the
Ministry of Civil Aviation has a social responsibility towards its citizens. Economic
viability cannot be the only criteria for decision making. The Ministry of Civil
Aviation, though aware of the rampant exploitation, is not showing any proactive
role in regulating the airfares. The Committee, therefore, recommends the
Ministry of Civil Aviation to consider fixing an upper limit of the air tickets for
every sector.
(Para 8)
The Committee noted that recently there were many incidents of
manhandling, discourteous and rude behavior by airlines staff, both ground staff
and cabin crew. Some of them were reported in the media and a large number of
them went unreported. While narrating some of the incidents of misbehavior in
airlines, especially in Indigo, majority of the Members opined that the attitude of
airlines staff is very condescending, often unco-operative and on many occasions,
downright rude.
(Para 9)
The Committee opined that merely taking strictest action against the
employees does not absolve the airline of its guilt of the incident.
(Para 11)
The Committee observes that the problems affecting the airlines are not
personal; it is institutional. An institution like Indigo has to develop a consumer
friendly approach in dealing with their passengers. The Committee believes that
being a leader in market share, Indigo needs to look inward and find out the
reasons for the discourteous attitude and rude and indifferent behavior of their
employees, whether it is their cabin crew or the ground staff. The Committee
emphasizes that the arrogant behavior of employees should stop.
(Para 12)
The Committee totally disagrees with the proposition that the students
coming out of Government Schools and colleges cannot be trained. Our
Government schools and colleges produce the best students of the country and we
have a duty to nurture and promote such students to achieve their full potential.
If a particular airlines has grown exponentially, they should deploy a
proportionate amount to the training of their staff instead of misbehaving and
manhandling the passengers or blaming the youngsters from Tier II and III cities
and Government schools.
(Para 15)
The Committee, keeping in view the recent incidents of misbehavior of
airlines staff including the manhandling of a passenger by staff of Indigo Airlines,
emphasizes on the need for soft skills training and functionality training for all
employees across airlines.
(Para 16)
The Committee desires that the employees be provided training in order to
effectively manage crisis situations such as delay in flight take-off, delay in
landing, diversion of flights etc. Further, training should also be given to the
airlines staff to sensitize them to meet the needs of persons with disability.
Intensive training should be given to the crew and staff to extend courteous and
decent behavior to the passengers. The crew should be trained to be more polite
than saying ‘please’ or ‘thank you’. The passengers expect a civilized behavior
from the cabin crew and the ground staff as the salaries to the cabin crew and
ground staff are paid from the income earned from the passengers.
(Para 17)
The Committee notes that the training modules, training schedules, content
of training, duration of training, budget allocation for training etc. varies from
airline to airline. In some of the cases, the training programmes are non-existent
or just for namesake. The Government should come up with a training
programme suitable to Indian conditions emphasizing on the courteous behavior
to the passengers. The Committee underlines the need to standardize the training
programmes of all the airlines. The Committee recommends that the Government
should formulate the guidelines for such training programmes applicable to all the
airlines, at the earliest.
(Para 18)
The Committee notes that the check-in process and collection of luggage
are cumbersome and time consuming. What the passenger wants is a quick check-
in, without long queues and a smooth process of security check. Despite the huge
claims of airlines regarding the check-in process, the Committee is compelled to
observe that the check-in counters are in a mess, especially those of the low cost
airlines such as Indigo.
(Para 20)
The Committee has noticed reports of some private airlines creating long
queues at the check-in counters to delay the process of check-in so that passengers
miss their scheduled flights. This compels them to buy tickets at exorbitant prices
to travel in the next available flight. The Committee also notes that airlines are
overbooking flights and creating later, artificial situations to deny boarding to the
confirmed ticket holders. Many a times it has been noticed that adequate number
of personnel are not posted to man the check-in counters.
(Para 21)
 The Committee recommends that arrangements be made to ensure that the
passenger does not spend more than 10 minutes in a queue at the check-in counter
to get a boarding pass. Whenever there is rush of passengers, additional staff
should be deputed at the check-in counters. AAI and the other airport operators
may provide adequate number of check-in counters and self checking kiosks at the
airports. The Government should also ensure that if a passenger is denied
boarding due to rush at the counter or due to overbooking, the passenger may be
compensated adequately and he/she may be sent in an alternative flight.
(Para 22)
The Committee takes note of the steps taken by the Airport operators to
provide e-boarding facility at certain airports to reduce waiting time for baggage
check-in and security clearance. The Committee desires that e-boarding facility
should be made available to passengers at all airports.
(Para 25)
The Committee was informed that there are great difficulties in getting
water and food in low cost airlines especially in Indigo. In Indigo, the food has to
be pre-booked and on board, if someone demands food, they refuse to provide the
food even to those who are diabetic and suffering from other medical conditions.
A passenger has to report to the airport counter 2 hours before the departure time
and one has to spend a few more hours in the flight without food and water and it
is a horrible thing to face. The Committee, therefore, recommends that Indigo
and other low cost airlines should take adequate steps to ensure that food is
available to the passengers on demand especially to those who are having some
medical conditions.
(Para 27)
The Committee notes that the main difference between a low cost carrier
and the full cost carrier is the serving of food. It is unacceptable for airlines to
serve unsatisfactory food after having charged customers for it. Every airline
should maintain the highest quality of food and they should also change the menu
occasionally instead of keeping a cold sandwich in their menu throughout the
year. The Committee recommends that random audits of the catering kitchens
should be held to ensure quality, quantity and hygiene and that feedback from
customers may also be taken into account. The cost of food may be separately
printed on the ticket.
(Para 28)
Due to their profit motive, the airlines are not providing adequate leg
space to the passengers. The Committee desires that the Ministry of Civil Aviation
may prepare a guideline laying down a minimum space standard in respect of
seats and legroom.
(Para 29)
The Committee has been informed by all airlines that no unserviceable
seats are being offered to passengers. However, the Committee has noted that
unserviceable seats are in fact offered to passengers and complaints made to the
cabin crew in this regard have gone unheeded. The Committee noticed that
though all the airlines have a policy of not offering unserviceable seats, the
practice is that these are silently offered to the unsuspecting passengers. It is a
cruel joke to offer unserviceable seats even to Business
Class passengers. Due to their busy schedule, the passengers are compelled to
travel by availing the unserviceable seats. The Committee observes that it is a
deficiency of service by service airlines. The airlines should take an initiative to
ensure that unserviceable seats are either replaced or repaired at the earliest.
Monetary compensation may be given to the affected passengers who are offered
the unserviceable seats. The Government should formulate a policy to restrict the
use of unserviceable seats.
(Para 31)
The Committee notes that cancellation charges levied by private airlines
are arbitrarily set. There is no uniformity or minimum standards to impose
charges for rescheduling, cancellation and no-show. Attractive offers by private
airlines veil the fact that passengers are charged the entire ticket amount if they
want to cancel the tickets. The airlines must be restricted to charging not more
than 50% of the base fare as cancellation charges. The tax and fuel surcharge
collected should be refunded to the passengers on cancellation of tickets. The
Committee desires that DGCA may conduct periodic checks to ensure that the
cancellation charges are not a burden on consumers.
(Para 40)
The cancellation charges may be printed prominently in the ticket itself
and not as a fine print. Norms for cancellation should be given more publicity
through posters and websites.
(Para 41)
Therefore, the Committee recommends the Ministry to reissue guidelines
reiterating already existing guidelines, hence ensuring strict compliance by all the
airlines. If needed, the schemes and guidelines may be strengthened for the smooth
travel of differently abled persons.
(Para 42)
The Committee notes that even after the existence of guidelines of BCAS,
there are instances of misbehavior by CISF and other security personnel. The
Committee observes that the Government needs to be proactive to face the
emerging challenges of the growth of Civil Aviation Sector. The recent incidents of
misbehavior definitely show CISF in poor light and prove that the training
programmes are insufficient and more needs to be done. The Committee,
therefore, recommends that the Government should reevaluate the soft skill
training programmes of CISF and security personnel and motivate them to be
passenger friendly.
(Para 44)
Poor experiences in the toilets are often very strongly linked to passengers’
overall satisfaction. Having enough washrooms in the right places and keeping
the washrooms clean should be the priority of the AAI and Airport operators.
The toilets should be the statement of quality. The Committee recommends that
cleanliness should be given utmost importance by AAI and various other airport
operators and they should take effective steps to ensure that toilets at the airports
should be maintained in a clean and tidy manner. The Government of India
should also monitor the quality of the toilets of all the airports.
(Para 46)
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has developed an Air Sewa Application
which can be availed through Web portals and mobile phones, with an aim to help
the air travelers. It contains a module for receiving, tracking and monitoring of
grievances with the stakeholders. Around 20,000 people downloaded this
application and the Ministry has received 6,000 complaints from passengers
during the last year. The Committee is surprised to note that in a country where
there are more than 16 crores passengers using air services, just 20,000 people are
using the application developed by the Civil Aviation Ministry. It should be
improved and the App may be advertised to ensure that every passenger is aware
of the existence of the App. Every grievance redressal mechanism of the Airlines
may be integrated with the Air Sewa App of the Government so that better
monitoring can be done.
(Para 48)
During the deliberations of the Committee, the CEO, Jet Airways was
requested to address the issue of customer complaints. The Committee also notes,
through personal anecdotes of Committee Members, the deliberate reluctance of
Jet Airways to note customer complaints. The Committee is of the view that a
proper complaints redressal mechanism should be in place with all airlines. The
complaints received from the customers should be redressed in a time bound
manner. It should be ensured that the complaints have been redressed to the
satisfaction of the customers. The details of the complaint redressal mechanism
should be adequately advertised and printed bold in the tickets of the airlines.
(Para 49)

The Committee notes that the officials of immigration counters have no

right to be rude and discourteous. They are just Government servants regulated
by the set of rules and regulations. Their main role is to facilitate the passenger's
journey and not to misbehave. The Committee recommends that soft skills
training be imparted to the persons at immigration counters given their direct
dealings with foreign tourists.
(Para 51)
The Committee is aware that airport infrastructure has a major role to
play in extending amenities and conveniences to the passengers. The Committee is
of the view that there is a need for adequate technology driven infrastructure in
our country to enable airlines to improve their on-time performance.
(Para 54)
The Committee realizes that so far, the growth of airport infrastructure
has not been commensurate with the growth in the number of passengers. Keeping
in view the pace at which Indian aviation is growing, the Committee recommends
that AAI and other Airport Operators should bolster their efforts to build new
infrastructure and to expand existing airports to enhance the facilities available at
airports. Decongesting the airports, decongesting the runway and the airspace
should be the top priority of the Government. Airport facilities need to be
upgraded on an urgent basis.
(Para 55)

The Committee notes that due to ‘non-uniform block time’, the passengers
often have to spend more time on board the aircraft. The practice of ‘non-
uniform block time’ is obviously not desirable. The Committee, therefore,
recommends that all the airlines may follow uniform block time. The Committee
also recommends that a co-ordinated effort should be made by Air Traffic
Control, Airports Authority of India, Airport operators and Airlines for
maintaining punctuality in air services.
(Para 57)
The Committee notes that in granting traffic rights, home carriers’
interests, whether Government owned or private, are always considered. The
incremental capacity generated by the bilateral could not be used by the home
carriers due to the limitation of non-availability of landing slots and parking slots
in foreign destinations. The Government which is aware of the limitations,
knowingly and willingly, allowed incremental capacity to foreign airlines whereas
the home carriers are left in lurch. The Committee, therefore, recommends that
all bilateral rights may be directly linked with the slots being given to the Indian
carriers in foreign destinations. The Committee recommends that the Ministry
should thoroughly examine this issue of making slots available to the Indian
airlines and ensure that airlines of India get fair allocations.
(Para 60)
The Committee is of the view that the airlines should strike the right
balance between profit making and social responsibility. The Committee,
therefore, appreciates the various CSR initiatives undertaken by airlines and
expects that they should do more.
(Para 61)
The Committee notes with dismay that the Government has adopted the
open sky policy without laying down the necessary guidelines, rules and
regulations to control the activities of the airlines. The consumers are at the
receiving end and at the mercy of the private airlines for any kind of services. The
Committee is not clear who fixes the standards and what are the standards, be it
training, quality of food, amenities to passengers, behavior of airlines staff, quality
of seats, cancellation charges, pricing of air tickets etc. The Committee desires that
the Government should wake up from its slumber and perform their duties to save
the airline passengers from the vices and to make the air travel an enjoyable
experience for them. Civil Aviation and Airlines industry is service industry and
any service industry has to be user friendly and customer friendly.
(Para 62)
*****