On Thursday, as an Air India flight took off for London from Delhi and lunch began to be served, a passenger reportedly spotted a lizard in the meal tray. The baby reptile was stuck beneath the bread offered to him, according to reports.
Air India denied the claim, insisting that there was “absolutely no truth” in the allegation.
The next day, the airline was the target of ire again, as the air conditioning failed on a flight from Delhi to Goa at 35,000 feet above the ground, resulting in extreme discomfort for the travellers. Passengers forced the crew to turn the plane back to Delhi, where it landed under emergency conditions.
Social media was quick to respond with rage over the reports about the “sorry state of affairs” at the airline, which has suffered from a great deal of bad press about its service in recent years. But is Air India actually the worst airline on the domestic circuit? Not according to the official data put out by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Let’s talk food
According to the data on complaints received by various domestic carriers over a nine-month period from June 2014 to February 2015, Air India claims to have received absolutely no complaints at all about catering and food services.
By comparison, the no-frills airline GoAir received over 30 complaints related to food over the same period, while newly launched Vistara clocked one complaint. Grievances about catering rarely form more than 1% of all the complaints received by airlines. Instead, flight problems, including those about ACs, have been constantly rising, to form almost one-third of all the complaints.
Neither here nor there
Air India isn't even among the worst performers when it comes to services and staff behaviour.
According to the official statistics for the last three months, Air India actually features in the list of better carriers than the worst ones, considering complaints per 10,000 passengers. Air India received only two complaints about slack staff per 10,000 passengers in March, while while SpiceJet received over three complaints and GoAir was at nearly six.
Since June 2014, Air India’s complaint rate has never climbed above three complaints per 10,000 passengers. IndiGo, on the other hand, has proved to be a constant over-performer, rarely receiving more than one complaint per 10,000 passengers over the last year.
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Free lizard with meal, Air India? No, thanks! http://t.co/V8U92weJhk pic.twitter.com/agiGiFfrpR
— NewsMobile (@NewsMobileIndia) June 13, 2015Air India denied the claim, insisting that there was “absolutely no truth” in the allegation.
#Clarification #Denial #Air India would like to clarify that the news on Twitter & elsewhere regarding a "lizard in meal tray" (1/3)
— Air India (@airindiain) June 13, 2015
On board AI 111 DEL-LHR of 11th June, is #false & #baseless. (2/3)
— Air India (@airindiain) June 13, 2015
No such complaint has been received from any passenger on board the flight or at Air India office in LHR. (3/3)
— Air India (@airindiain) June 13, 2015The next day, the airline was the target of ire again, as the air conditioning failed on a flight from Delhi to Goa at 35,000 feet above the ground, resulting in extreme discomfort for the travellers. Passengers forced the crew to turn the plane back to Delhi, where it landed under emergency conditions.
Social media was quick to respond with rage over the reports about the “sorry state of affairs” at the airline, which has suffered from a great deal of bad press about its service in recent years. But is Air India actually the worst airline on the domestic circuit? Not according to the official data put out by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Let’s talk food
According to the data on complaints received by various domestic carriers over a nine-month period from June 2014 to February 2015, Air India claims to have received absolutely no complaints at all about catering and food services.
By comparison, the no-frills airline GoAir received over 30 complaints related to food over the same period, while newly launched Vistara clocked one complaint. Grievances about catering rarely form more than 1% of all the complaints received by airlines. Instead, flight problems, including those about ACs, have been constantly rising, to form almost one-third of all the complaints.
Neither here nor there
Air India isn't even among the worst performers when it comes to services and staff behaviour.
According to the official statistics for the last three months, Air India actually features in the list of better carriers than the worst ones, considering complaints per 10,000 passengers. Air India received only two complaints about slack staff per 10,000 passengers in March, while while SpiceJet received over three complaints and GoAir was at nearly six.
Since June 2014, Air India’s complaint rate has never climbed above three complaints per 10,000 passengers. IndiGo, on the other hand, has proved to be a constant over-performer, rarely receiving more than one complaint per 10,000 passengers over the last year.