Indian Airlines? Back in the 70s I was a travel agent. Getting any kind of confirmed booking out of Indian Airlines was impossible. Then in 1978 I went to India and, as usual, everything was still "on request" as I left the UK. Everywhere I went I did actually get on the plane, in one case I was told I was number 16 on the waitlist but I still got on (737-200). My abiding memory was Calcutta where I was sent to the reservations desk to find out if I had a seat. Like oldtora it was a scrum but I managed to get to the front. When I asked if I was on the flight the person on the counter asked me to wait, disappeared and came back with a very, very large sheet of paper (A300 sized) and started working his way through all the little boxes to see if my name appeared (it did!).
Over the years I've had all sorts of things happen but not just on airlines. Train broke down. Car stuck in a jam because of a crash ahead. Road washed out on a coach tour in Alaska so they flew us that bit. Business class seat electronics failed so it wouldn't turn into a bed. Go arounds and diversions. Landslide blocked railway near Andover leading to a diversion and enough delay that the railway refunded the whole fare. Catamaran in dry dock so put on ferry, missed train but got on the next one. In Chile and Bolivia I failed to understand their ticket sale policies and didn't get on the train at all. Oh and San Francisco to Los Angeles checked a bag, not on the carousel but United had put it on the previous flight. I've learned to "go with the flow".