Pune flyer orders veg food, gets non-veg instead

PUNE: Sunil Laroiya, a vice-president at an automotive firm in Pune and a frequent flyer of German airline Lufthansa, was in for a shock last week when he was served non-vegetarian meal while travelling from Frankfurt to Delhi. A strict vegetarian, Laroiya realised the mix-up after he had consumed some portion of the meal.
Responding to a query by TOI, the airline said that an investigation has been launched. Laroiya said that he was deeply hurt and suffered severe mental trauma because of the mix-up.

“On September 25, I was travelling from Frankfurt to Delhi on business class via Lufthansa (LH-760). I am a frequent flyer and flew five times on the airline last month. However, this time around, my experience was not at all pleasant. I had ordered a vegetarian meal at the time of booking my ticket. Apart from the goof up, what I found disconcerting was the negative and rude attitude of the cabin crew member once I raised the complaint,” Laroiya, a resident of Aundh, told TOI.

He added that believing it to be vegetarian meal, he had consumed half of it until he realised that something was wrong. “When I raised the matter with the crew member she sounded very rude. Thereafter, I spoke to the flight supervisor who said that humans do make mistakes and it was not something serious. He tried to convince me by arguing that I too have made mistakes in my life and should not be so concerned about the issue. Then she tried to settle the issue by offering me sweets and internet vouchers,” he said.

He added that when he refused the sweets and internet vouchers, he was told that there was no complaint book on the flight.

“The flight supervisor reiterated that if I wanted to lodge complaint, I could do so online. I finally went ahead and filed an online complaint. It may be a minor issue for some but for people like me, it is a very serious issue as my religious beliefs don’t allow me to consume non-vegetarian food?” he said.

A Lufthansa spokesperson said, “We are sorry to hear that Mr Sunil Laroiya seems not to have received the service and support he had expected. At the outset, we would like to state that we are investigating the incident to ensure a comprehensive understanding relating to all parties involved. We appreciate your understanding."