Damaged business class seat on Air India flight: Consumer court awards Rs 50,000 to elderly couple

In a recent ruling, the Chandigarh District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission directed Air India to pay Rs 50,000 compensation to two senior citizens for the damage they suffered due to a damaged seat on a New York to Delhi flight. Discomfort.

The committee of President Pawanjit Singh and member Suresh Kumar Sadhana pointed out that the evidence showed that the seats were defective and caused physical discomfort to the complainants, thereby causing them mental agony and harassment.

The order was passed in a consumer complaint filed by two senior citizens, Rajesh Chopra and Gamini Chopra, against M/s Air India Ltd. under Section 34 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

According to the complaint, the couple booked a flight from New York to New Delhi and paid Rs 8,24,964 to Air India. Since Rajesh Chopra is a stroke patient and a disabled person who had traveled to the United States for physical therapy, the couple booked business class tickets considering that they could travel comfortably and worry-free. However, they claim they were forced to sit on tattered seats with their feet propped up on a stool in front of them during the 14-hour journey.

The complainant was unable to recline the seat during the night journey, resulting in excessive swelling and pain in Rajesh Chopra’s feet. The complaint also included photos of defective aircraft seats.

When the complainant emailed Air India regarding the issue, there was no reply, except that Air India apologized for the inconvenience caused to the complainant. Furthermore, when the company sent a legal notice to the company, the company responded that the complainants should be vigilant about the seats they choose during their travels.

The Commission narrowed the issue to the question of whether Air India was defective in the provision of services and whether the complainants were entitled to the relief prayed for by them.

It stated that the records clearly showed that the seats allocated to the complainant were defective as they did not slide or move forward.

Therefore, the Commission held that since the complainant admitted to suffering physical inconvenience and mental anguish due to the defective seat on a long-haul flight, the airline had a duty to compensate the complainant for the deficiencies in the service provided by it.

“…the complainant has completed the journey from New York to Delhi but the OP was unable to remove the defect in the seat. The above conduct of the OP constitutes defective service and unfair trade practice on its part.”

Therefore, while partially allowing the complaint, the Commission awarded compensation of Rs 50,000 to the couple and Rs 10,000 to be paid by the airline as legal costs.