Pune author on flying Air India: ‘Will take a bullock cart but not your airline’

An author and vice president of a startup had a distressing experience on an Air India flight from Bengaluru to Pune on Monday, June 24. Aditya Kondawar was so upset by what he went through that he decided not to travel with the airline again. He further expressed that he would pay extra or even consider alternative modes of transportation, such as a bullock cart, but would not fly Air India.

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“Thank you for teaching me a very valuable lesson last night,” Kondawar wrote in his note addressing Air India on the micro-blogging platform X.

In the next few lines, he added, “Never and I mean it with all seriousness - I am never flying Air India Express or Air India in my life again - I will pay 100% extra cost if needed but will take other airlines that are on time (only 2 other airline options anyways).”

“Will take a bullock cart but not your airline,” he stressed.

Kondawar then explained the reason behind it. He said his flight, which was scheduled for 9:50 pm, took off at around 12:15 am. “The flight was stinking and the seats were so dirty and full of stains.”

He also said he reached home at 3 am after “sitting through multiple management interactions”.

Kondawar further said that he has “immense respect for the Tata Group and its leaders”, adding that he “expects perfection from them always” and that “this was a disaster”.

Take a look at the X post here:

Air India Express soon responded to his ordeal and promised to "fix the issue immediately. “Hi Aditya! We apologise for the inconvenience caused due to the disruption in your flight schedule. Please note that the incoming flight was delayed due to reasons beyond our control. We will look into the issue raised regarding your aircraft experience and will fix it immediately,” read the airline’s response to the post.

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In another comment, the company wrote, “We never want our guests to have such an experience, Aditya. Rest assured, we've noted your feedback and will look into it. Please consider this an isolated incident and give us the chance to serve you better in the future.”

What did other Air India travellers say?

“Mine was even more horrible, brother. The flight to Goa was delayed by four hours, and then they found a bag in the back seat in mid-flight and kept the flight in an isolated area at Dabolim airport for another three hours. Further, they kept our baggage for clearance for one more hour. The whole day was wasted,” said X user Vishal Malhotra.

Another individual, Wazz Shak, claimed, “Sorry to hear, but my case was more horrible. When I travelled on a flight from Doha to Delhi, there was dry shit on my seat.”

“Air India Express is the worst. Our 7 am flight came at 8 pm from Srinagar,” expressed a third social media user, Manoj Rijhwani.