New Delhi: India’s flying public is becoming increasingly frustrated with the nation’s airlines, according to a survey undertaken for Bloomberg, saying that customer service and the behavior of airline staff has deteriorated sharply in the wake of Covid-19.
Some 79% of the 15,000 airline passengers surveyed by LocalCircles said they believe carriers in India are compromising on passenger comfort and cutting corners as a result of the pandemic, souring the reopening of what was prior to Covid the world’s fastest-growing aviation market.
Topping respondents’ list of airlines whose service was deemed most unsatisfactory was SpiceJet Ltd., followed by the country’s biggest airline with a 55% market share, IndiGo. Complaints across all airlines included flight delays, shoddy in-flight service, bad boarding procedures and tatty aircraft interiors.
SpiceJet said it is prioritizing automation, technology and sustainability to improve customers’ experience. IndiGo said it is also focusing on digitization to give customers a contactless travel experience, noting that using technology at check-in to boarding and beyond has helped it reduce wait times at airports.
The results come as Indian carriers find themselves on the receiving end of a degree of backlash from passengers. In one recent high-profile incident, IndiGo barred a disabled teenager from boarding a flight, saying the boy was causing a disturbance and could pose a safety threat.
India’s aviation regulator launched a preliminary inquiry into the matter that found IndiGo didn’t conform with rules and its staff inappropriately handled the passenger. The investigation is ongoing. IndiGo said in a statement at the time that it made the “best possible decision under difficult circumstances.”
Aditya Jha, a New Delhi-based writer who witnessed the incident firsthand, said IndiGo “singled out” the child and “robbed him of his basic human right to fly.” Passengers on the flight, some of whom were doctors, tried to convince IndiGo it was perfectly safe, to no avail.
“Airline service has definitely deteriorated since the pandemic,” Jha said in an interview with Bloomberg. “There’s no alternative to flying, but there’s definitely alternative airlines.”
In another video that recently went viral a woman is seen suffering a panic attack after Air India Ltd., now under the management of India’s largest conglomerate Tata Group, prevented her from boarding, saying she arrived after the gate shut.
