Aditya Kondawar’s Frustrating Flight Sparks Wave of Complaints Against Air Indi

Aditya Kondawar, an author and startup vice president, had a bad experience on an Air India flight from Bengaluru to Pune on June 24. He shared his frustration on the micro-blogging platform X, saying he would never fly with Air India again.

Kondawar said he would rather pay more or find other ways to travel. He complained about the flight being delayed and the dirty, smelly seats, and made it clear he won’t use Air India in the future, no matter the cost.

The issues Kondawar faced included a significant delay; the flight scheduled for 9:50 pm only took off around 12:15 am. Additionally, he described the airplane as stinking and the seats as stained and dirty.

After the delayed and unpleasant flight, he reached home at 3 am following interactions with airline management. Kondawar, who has great respect for the Tata Group, expressed his disappointment and called the experience a disaster, which contrasted with his high expectations from the group.

In response to Kondawar’s post, Air India Express apologized and promised to address the issues. They cited factors beyond their control for the delay and assured Kondawar that they would investigate and resolve the problems he raised. Air India Express further urged him to consider his experience an isolated incident and gave assurances of better service in the future.

Other Air India travelers also shared their negative experiences, supporting Kondawar’s sentiments. Vishal Malhotra recounted a flight to Goa delayed by four hours, followed by a security scare and further delays, wasting an entire day.

Wazz Shak reported finding dry feces on his seat during a flight from Doha to Delhi. Manoj Rijhwani described an extreme delay on a flight from Srinagar, which arrived 13 hours late.

These shared experiences highlight a pattern of dissatisfaction among Air India passengers, with complaints about significant delays, poor hygiene, and mismanagement. Despite Air India’s attempts to mitigate concerns and assure better service, these repeated issues have caused significant frustration and loss of trust among travelers.