One in four flyers complained of losing checked-in baggage in last three years
Premium- Several complaints regarding the same have been received by Air India that prompted DGCA to intervene and issue directives to remedy the situation
One out of four fliers has lost their bags or received them later in the last 3 years, meanwhile, one in three fliers have had an experience where the airline damaged their luggage. Several complaints regarding the same have been received by Air India that prompted the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to intervene and issue directives to remedy the situation. So have been Spicejet, Indigo and Vistara.
Following such complaints, LocalCircles decided to conduct a national study to understand the collective experience of people, from a delayed or damaged baggage standpoint. It also tried to fathom how airline customer service was handling such complaints.
1 in 4 fliers had an experience where the airline delayed their bag or lost it
When fliers were asked the question “how many times in the last 3 years (2020-22) have you had a situation where the airline you or your family traveled on had an issue with delivering your bag on a timely basis (instead of having delayed baggage or lost baggage)?" it was found that 14% of 10,944 respondents had gone through this experience at least once, while 11% had faced this anxiety filled experience twice. The remaining 75% had always gotten it on time.
Delays due to technical snags in conveyors or baggage logistics equipment, mishandling, failure to send luggage by the correct flight, security issues are among the many reasons cited when passengers are put to hardship at airports by airlines in India. Some fliers have also alleged airline staff occasionally engaging in removing baggage tags leading to their luggage getting held up in the airport lost and found sections.
1 in 3 fliers have had an experience where the airline damaged their checked in bag(s)
To the next survey question on “how many times in the last 3 years have you had a situation where the airline you or your family traveled on damaged your checked in bag(s)?" one in 3 fliers shared that they faced this experience one or more times. Of the 35% out of 10,981 respondents, 20% shared that they or their family member faced this experience twice, while 5% faced it twice, another 5% thrice and yet another 5% experienced it more than four times in the 3-year period.
62% dissatisfied with airlines customer service and responsiveness; 38% rated it as poor, 12% described it as pathetic, while another 12% felt it was average.
Via the final question in the survey, fliers were asked “when you or your family member had a delayed, lost or damaged baggage issue with airline(s) in the last 3 years, how would you rate their customer service and responsiveness?", 62% out of 11,112 respondents were dissatisfied. Of these, 38% rated it as poor, 12% described it as pathetic, while another 12% felt it was average. However, 25% rated the air carriers’ response to their complaint as good while another 12% described the remedial action as excellent.
Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less