Low Cost Airline? Take a Train..
I had Air Deccan tickets to fly to Trivandrum on Friday at 4:00 pm. The Air Deccan people called me in the morning and said that the flight would be preponed by 15 mins. Wow! I've never had that happen on Indian Stretchable Time. I got to the airport at 2:45 only to be informed that due to technical reasons departure had been delayed till 10:20 pm and didn't you get the SMS?! Turns out that I wasn't the only guy who didn't 'get the SMS'. One of the other passengers asked to see the manager to arrange accomodation till the departure since he had a new born baby with him. The guy at the counter replied that they didn't have a manager (?!) and that if there was a Jet Airways flight (which there was'nt) they could schedule us on it and the Road Comes Free (Copyright) Reebok. I decided to head back to NGV and wait till the evening. I recieved THE sms saying that the flight had been pushed to 10:20 pm at 4:00 pm. Just in Time! But what if the flight had taken off?!I recieved another SMS at 5:00 pm which read 'due to technical issues, flight stands cancelled'. I called up the call center and asked them to schedule me on the Jet Airways flight in the morning. They said that they didn't have such a policy and that I could only take the next flight at 4:00 pm tomorrow. When I asked to speak to a manager they said that there was no one in charge I could talk to at the call center (?! curiouser and curiouser..). They asked me to call the 'manager' at the airport. I tried for an hour, but no one picked up the phone at the end of the number they gave me. Finally at 7:00 pm someone picked it up. When I asked to be scheduled on the Jet Airways flight in the morning he said that he was ground staff and that he couldn't book anything. He didn't have a manager either. (?! is Air Deccan run by the Communists?). He said that the Call Center could help me out and gave me the number. (Thank you Comrade! waitaminute.. isn't this the old Indian Loop Trick?).
I tried to get a bus or train ticket but thats impossible on Friday evenings. I called the call center the following morning and asked if the flight was scheduled for departure at 3:45 pm. They said that since they cancelled the flight I would be given one free rescheduling. Yippie!.
The return flight on Monday was also delayed by 3 hours. On the flight, I asked to buy a sandwich for Rs. 40 - the Air Hostess suggested I take the biscuits instead since the sandwiches are bad sometimes. I've heard that Air Deccan is unreliable but this is by far the worst airline I've travelled on. My only consolation is that the tickets were free. Next time I want to fly within India, I'll take Jet/Sahara/Kingfisher. Otherwise I'll take the train. (would have taken a lot less time than this flight..).
[EDITED on 22nd September 2006]: After my really bad experience on Air Deccan last month, I had decided never to fly this crappy airline again. Unfortunately I had to book my parents on it from Bangalore to Cochin in the last minute today since there was NO other tickets available at such short notice. While booking online - I didn’t change the Mr. to Mrs. in the title for my mother. I noticed it only after booking the ticket. I called up the call center and the girl at the other end said ’give me Rs. 200 and I’ll change it’. I sent an email to the customer feedback and they replied:
"You need to make a choice on the gender as well as the title. (What the @#$?! Maybe they get passengers who are Mr. and Female?) We regret that our reservation system does not enable us to make changes of any kind in a ticket once it has been generated. Please note that modifications can be done, wherein you will be charged Rs.200 per passenger per trip." (Didn't the third statement negate the second? Mathematical proofs anyone?)
Deccans not really low cost if you book on short notice - which is often the case since you need to travel for emergencies and you take a flight. I was in Cochin last week and the prices for Cochin - Bangalore was almost the same (~Rs. 500) for Kingfisher Airlines and Air Deccan. And for the Rs. 500 extra - Kingfisher has great food and seating, friendly staff, great service and it won't get cancelled on account of faulty aircraft, lack of staff etc. It doesn't make sense to take tickets on Deccan if you are doing it in advance either - there is no guarantee that the flight will take off on time for the ticket you took 7 months prior.
More Air Deccan Horror Stories:
http://expertdabbler.blogspot.com/2006/07/air-deccan-simply-cry.html
http://www.mouthshut.com/product-reviews/Air_Deccan-925042823.html
http://www.abdulqabiz.com/blog/archives/general/air_deccan_suck_1.php
I tried to get a bus or train ticket but thats impossible on Friday evenings. I called the call center the following morning and asked if the flight was scheduled for departure at 3:45 pm. They said that since they cancelled the flight I would be given one free rescheduling. Yippie!.
The return flight on Monday was also delayed by 3 hours. On the flight, I asked to buy a sandwich for Rs. 40 - the Air Hostess suggested I take the biscuits instead since the sandwiches are bad sometimes. I've heard that Air Deccan is unreliable but this is by far the worst airline I've travelled on. My only consolation is that the tickets were free. Next time I want to fly within India, I'll take Jet/Sahara/Kingfisher. Otherwise I'll take the train. (would have taken a lot less time than this flight..).
[EDITED on 22nd September 2006]: After my really bad experience on Air Deccan last month, I had decided never to fly this crappy airline again. Unfortunately I had to book my parents on it from Bangalore to Cochin in the last minute today since there was NO other tickets available at such short notice. While booking online - I didn’t change the Mr. to Mrs. in the title for my mother. I noticed it only after booking the ticket. I called up the call center and the girl at the other end said ’give me Rs. 200 and I’ll change it’. I sent an email to the customer feedback and they replied:
"You need to make a choice on the gender as well as the title. (What the @#$?! Maybe they get passengers who are Mr. and Female?) We regret that our reservation system does not enable us to make changes of any kind in a ticket once it has been generated. Please note that modifications can be done, wherein you will be charged Rs.200 per passenger per trip." (Didn't the third statement negate the second? Mathematical proofs anyone?)
Deccans not really low cost if you book on short notice - which is often the case since you need to travel for emergencies and you take a flight. I was in Cochin last week and the prices for Cochin - Bangalore was almost the same (~Rs. 500) for Kingfisher Airlines and Air Deccan. And for the Rs. 500 extra - Kingfisher has great food and seating, friendly staff, great service and it won't get cancelled on account of faulty aircraft, lack of staff etc. It doesn't make sense to take tickets on Deccan if you are doing it in advance either - there is no guarantee that the flight will take off on time for the ticket you took 7 months prior.
More Air Deccan Horror Stories:
http://expertdabbler.blogspot.com/2006/07/air-deccan-simply-cry.html
http://www.mouthshut.com/product-reviews/Air_Deccan-925042823.html
http://www.abdulqabiz.com/blog/archives/general/air_deccan_suck_1.php
2 comments:
hehehe...all this pain for ditching us :D
did u finaly fly to trivandrum ?
time for a new poshtt..and down with DEccann...shud bomb all the deccan flights..wat say ;).
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