Apr 19, 2006 10:25 AM
1823 Views
(Updated Apr 19, 2006 10:27 AM)
Motivation I was inspired to write this on reading Adhir Gargs review on Air Deccan and I immediately realized that his experience being so good than mine was solely based on some divine factors than anything else.. leave alone any professionalism from Air Deccan .
My story Well its the same sad bad story that many other people have experienced. In my case it happened in Banglore on the 22nd of Feb. Having booked a return flight for the 9.30 pm flight I was all set to go and then I just got an SMS saying that my flight has been cancelled for operational reasons . Then there was this stupid number which I could not call from my Mumbai based cell. Living in a unknown locality I had to find a local phone booth and after umpteen tries I could get someone answer the call. They made me wait for atleast 10 full minutes before some automated message came in. Somehow that message informed that the flight has been delayed. ( this was contradictory to the sms message )
Rushing to the B'lore airport I found that the counters were full of people. The only thing that the Air Deccan staff were saying was 'Flight Cancelled'.. WHY? No one knows , When is the next flight ?? Tomm evening ...
That was the worst time of my life. After standing in the Air Deccan ticket queue for an hour , there were no seats available for the next afternoon flight. The staff was very indifferent and they never had any answers to the travellers queries.
Later on I came to know that this was very much normal with Air Deccan Flights .. but it left me deeply frustrated , angry and cursing . Had to shell quite a few extras for travel and stay , forget the money I spent on the Indian Airlines flight .
Same happened with my bro in law who flew from Delhi to B'lore .. the flight was scheduled at 6.30 pm but took off at 1.30 am and imagine not even anyone asking for water or tea .. forget snacks ! [ 23rd/ 24th Feb 2006 ] . It seems that the staff also misbehaved with the passengers , he spoke rudely and was promptly beaten up by a few people .
To sum up
Pros: Cheap flights .. if it really takes off .
Cons :
Untimely information - You might get an sms minutes before the flight , about it being cancelled.
Un supportive staff - they fall in the worst category . But I dont blame them , its just that they have to face it every day , maybe.
No alternative arrangement - Never trust them that they will take your case on priority basis etc . But thats clearly mentioned on the tickets ..
Added Frustrations and Anxiety - This comes complementary with Air Deccan flights.. correct me if I am wrong
Advice :
Never trust Air Deccan .. always have a backup plan ready . I had to shell much more and spend more on hotel charges for that unplanned extra stay . So if your hotels allow , then tell them not to reallocate the rooms till you call from the flight :-)
Call the travel office again and again to confirm if there are any chances that the flight might get delayed.
Carry some decent snacks with you - Or be prepared to shell out 40 Rs for 2 slices of bread , half filled with mayonnaise and other with cheese . Or some very costly samosas.
Please do visit some temples and make some donations to some worthy place if you plan a nice picnic using Air Deccan flights. That will somewhat offset any wrong Karmas that you might have done in your previous life and ward off the Air Deccan bad luck.
If you want some peace of mind , try Indian Airlines. .. they will atleast make some arrangements to stay if something goes wrong. [ based on my fathers experience ]
