Air India to pay compensation to elderly couple

Ahmedabad, Aug 16: Ruled guilty of deficiency in service, Air India (AI) has been directed to refund the fare amount with nine per cent interest from the date of complaint to a petitioner along with Rs 10,000 as compensation for mental agony, inconvenience and cost by the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (CDRF) here.

The complainants, Mr Tarun Seth and Mrs Pratibha Seth approached Consumer Education and Research Society (CERS), which issued a legal notice to the airlines calling upon it to refund the air fare. In the absence of response, the CERS and the couple filed a complaint with the Forum.

The Forum allowed a complaint against AI on the basis that the seats allotted to the elderly couple were not in proper condition during their journey from New York to Mumbai on October 14, 2004.

CDRF observed that the complainants had been provided with defective seats. As a result, they had to bear physical discomfort and mental harassment.

As per the complaint, Mr Seth and his wife had booked business class tickets and paid a total of Rs 2,43,241 for the journey. On boarding the flight, the couple --senior citizens with spinal cord problems - found it difficult to travel in the seats allotted to them as they were not in proper condition, nor were they adjustable.

They complained to the flight staff, who told them that they would be accommodated in comfortable seats at London. At London, their complaint was not resolved which led them to travel uncomfortably resulting in aggravated backache, mental and physical harassment.

After reaching India, the couple approached AI which regretted their inconvenience and offered them free tickets for the Mumbai-London-Mumbai sector or Mumbai-New York sector which the couple rejected and approached the CDRF for justice.

UNI