GoAir to pay Rs. 98,000 for canceling 25-tickets 'without reason'
In an incident of gross mismanagement, low-cost carrier GoAir has been recently directed by the consumer forum to pay more than Rs. 98,000 to a Mumbai-based man for canceling "without reason" 25 tickets that he had booked in 2015. Jayesh Pandya had booked the tickets for the guests arriving from Ahmedabad to Mumbai to attend his daughter's wedding back then. Here's what happened.
Man paid Rs. 50,000 for 25 tickets in May 2014
In May 2014, Pandya, a resident of Vile Parle, had spent Rs. 50,000 on the tickets to fly his guests on February 17, 2015. "I had made the wedding pooja arrangements based on the flight timings," he told media. However, in January 2015, when he contacted the airline to submit the passenger names, they informed him the flight was canceled without giving any reason.
Pandya again booked 24 tickets for Rs. 88,816 on Vistara
Following the cancellation, Pandya booked tickets for 24 passengers on Vistara Airlines for Rs. 88,816. In February 2015, he sought reimbursement of his expenses from the GoAir flight and wrote to the airline twice. Initially, GoAir gave him a Rs. 3,000-worth credit voucher and assured him that the refund was being processed. However, Pandya did not hear from the airline again.
Pandya files RTI query, finds no changes in GoAir's schedule
Thereafter, Pandya filed an RTI query with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) asking if the airline had undergone a change in schedule on February 17, 2015. The query revealed there were no changes, following which Pandya approached the forum in November 2016. GoAir, meanwhile, informed the forum that flight timings had been changed since September 6, 2014, as per DGCA's winter schedule.
Airline said they contacted Pandya about the cancellation through email
However, the forum pointed out that the RTI response from the DGCA contradicted GoAir's claim of changed timing, and held that the airline has made a false submission. GoAir also claimed to have contacted Pandya through email about the cancellation, but it could not produce any proof. The airline, however, submitted copies of emails from March 2015, which showed the refund discussion with Pandya.
Airline to pay for canceled tickets, Vistara tickets, additional compensation
The forum directed the airline to compensate Pandya with Rs. 50,000 for the tickets, and Rs. 38,816 for the excess amount Pandya paid for Vistara airlines and Rs. 10,000 as additional compensation. GoAir didn't comment on the issue saying the verdict was already out.
