May 27, 2007 01:48 AM
4551 Views
Hi I am an Indian Doctor who lives in Birmingham in UK.Being an immigrant to UK, I still frequently travel to and fro (atleast thrice a year) between Bangalore and Birmingham via London.Initially I was very patriotic and tried Air India, Jet Airways. But, I had horrible experience with both. I lost my whole check in baggage (containing sooks, clothing and my wife's saree !!!!! oh gosh...tell me about it) in Jet Airways.
They just failed completely to help me. They have absolutely no expeirnece in handling the international passenger load. About Air India, less said is better. It is NEVER NEVER on time. The word "Punctuality" doesn't exist in the dictionary of Air-India !! Being a Bangalorean and living in Birmingham, there is no direct flight at all between the two cities. I have to change at atleast one place, may be Delhi, London, Paris, Amsterdam....
This is a major risk as your check in luggage can easily get lost. I am always at the receiving end as I frequently have this problem. When I tried BA for the first time, the same thing happened and I didn't get my check-in luggage at Birmingham airport. But, the airport staff were courteous enough to inform me of the fault, apologise and then return the baggae to my home address at no extra cost, that too within 24 hours. Isn't that what you expect? Let me tell you I can never expect such service from ANY of our airlines. Last year when my wife went back to India for delivery, she was 32 weeks pregnant.
Due to my work committments, I couldn't accompany her and she went on her own. But, I made all the arrangement for a safe travel and also informed the BA about her condition. They looked after her very well and made her feel comfortable. I am really grateful to BA for that. On her way back, she came by Air India. She boarded the flight from Bangalore to Delhi, then changed to Delhi to toronto via Birmingham flight. This flight started 8 hours behind the schedule. Nobody even bothered informing the passengers about the cause of delay nor anybody made any arrangements for food, water and accomodation.
I was very concerned as my wife was alone and travelling with a 2 month old infant!!You tell me now ??Am I wrong in saying that BA is 100 times better than AI?I am also a patriotic man and want India/Indians to improve and excel.Our attitude has to change first.RegardsVIVAX
