vgk1945
21st Mar 2007, 12:06
Air Deccan 'simplicheats!' - Says news reports...
Bangalore, Mumbai: The Air Deccan Counter at the Bangalore airport is a noisy place, with off-loaded passengers fighting for what they have paid and what is rightfully theirs. Says an off-loaded passenger, Prashant Jotawar, "I was here at 5:20 AM, but someone from Air Deccan came and wrote 5:30 at the counter, saying you cannot board as you are three minutes late."
To find out more, CNN-IBN went undercover as passengers on February 27 and found that off-loading people seems like a part of the Air Deccan manager's daily routine.
" No ma'am, you are late," is what he told a member of the CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team. A little blue mark on the ticket, which says you are allegedly three minutes late is all that it takes to leave passengers high and dry.
"You are one minute late and you lose Rs 7,000 here," says an irate passenger.
And passengers are left pleading to get onto a flight that they had every right to be on. So how is this entire operation is managed?
When you check in, the first thing that goes slow is the baggage screening process. Then there is only one check in counter and the line there stretches forever. The Check-In staff at the counter is purposely told to slow down and you are declared as having come late even if you come early.
Says an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official, Bangalore, on condition of anonymity, "They slow down the counter work and the sales department sells more tickets."
Says MD Air Deccan, Captain G R Gopinath, "There were some over bookings. Our website was hacked by some unknown elements. There were flights showing on the computer, that did not exist!"
However, airport officials concede that the scam is an open secret. 20/03/07 Ruksh Chatterji, Priyanjana Dutta/CNN-IBN
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Air Deccan denies over-booking
New Delhi: India's premier low cost airline took an unprecedented hit to its credibility after CNN-IBN exposed that Air Deccan is resorting to a petty strategy of bending rules to make a fast buck and in the process, leaving passengers stranded. Here is how Air Deccan responded to Airports Authority of India officials' charge of a deliberate slow down by Air Deccan staff at check in counters. Air Deccan COO, Warwick Brady told CNN-IBN by way of explanation, "Air Deccan is a public company and prior to February 27, 2007, we have no over booking policy. Our system, which is in place, also serves Air India express and we are completely open to the press or any auditors." "We have never ever, in the history of Air Deccan - prior to February 27 - over booked any passenger. There is no reason why any staff - prior to February 27 or even now - delay the check in," he added.
Cheers
vgk1945
Bangalore, Mumbai: The Air Deccan Counter at the Bangalore airport is a noisy place, with off-loaded passengers fighting for what they have paid and what is rightfully theirs. Says an off-loaded passenger, Prashant Jotawar, "I was here at 5:20 AM, but someone from Air Deccan came and wrote 5:30 at the counter, saying you cannot board as you are three minutes late."
To find out more, CNN-IBN went undercover as passengers on February 27 and found that off-loading people seems like a part of the Air Deccan manager's daily routine.
" No ma'am, you are late," is what he told a member of the CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team. A little blue mark on the ticket, which says you are allegedly three minutes late is all that it takes to leave passengers high and dry.
"You are one minute late and you lose Rs 7,000 here," says an irate passenger.
And passengers are left pleading to get onto a flight that they had every right to be on. So how is this entire operation is managed?
When you check in, the first thing that goes slow is the baggage screening process. Then there is only one check in counter and the line there stretches forever. The Check-In staff at the counter is purposely told to slow down and you are declared as having come late even if you come early.
Says an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official, Bangalore, on condition of anonymity, "They slow down the counter work and the sales department sells more tickets."
Says MD Air Deccan, Captain G R Gopinath, "There were some over bookings. Our website was hacked by some unknown elements. There were flights showing on the computer, that did not exist!"
However, airport officials concede that the scam is an open secret. 20/03/07 Ruksh Chatterji, Priyanjana Dutta/CNN-IBN
=========
Air Deccan denies over-booking
New Delhi: India's premier low cost airline took an unprecedented hit to its credibility after CNN-IBN exposed that Air Deccan is resorting to a petty strategy of bending rules to make a fast buck and in the process, leaving passengers stranded. Here is how Air Deccan responded to Airports Authority of India officials' charge of a deliberate slow down by Air Deccan staff at check in counters. Air Deccan COO, Warwick Brady told CNN-IBN by way of explanation, "Air Deccan is a public company and prior to February 27, 2007, we have no over booking policy. Our system, which is in place, also serves Air India express and we are completely open to the press or any auditors." "We have never ever, in the history of Air Deccan - prior to February 27 - over booked any passenger. There is no reason why any staff - prior to February 27 or even now - delay the check in," he added.
Cheers
vgk1945