She said in a post on X, “@airindia, how dare you give my mom’s business class seat to someone else on a long-haul flight from Delhi to Washington DC? First, telling her the seat doesn’t recline, then saying the seat is for the crew, and then she finds someone else sitting there as she is sent to economy? A business seat was clearly indicated on mom’s boarding pass. My mother who has health issues and paid a higher fare to travel in comfort was actually told by the Delhi ground staff that her luggage would be taken off the plane if she didn’t simply take the economy seat.”
According to Saumya Brajmohan, Partner, Solomon & Co., a 110 year old law firm, in view of the rapid expansion of air services within India and especially on international routes to/from India and with an ever-arising increase in the volume of passenger traffic, it has been noticed from time to time that airlines downgrade passengers. “Downgrading passengers means shifting a passenger to a lower class at the time of check-in for several reasons,” she said.
What can you do if this happens to you at the airport
According to Brajmohan, the decision of downgrading of the travel category of an airline passenger can only be taken by an airline and usually such downgrading occurs due to factors such as unserviceable seats, change of aircraft, overbooking, etc.As per Brajmohan, if a passenger is downgraded, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has in Section 3 of the Air Transport, Series M, Part IV of its rules titled ‘Facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights’ brought in an amendment effective from February 15, 2023 which, includes reimbursement to be provided to passengers who have involuntarily been downgraded in the following manner:(i) For the domestic sector, 75% of the cost of the ticket will be included, including taxes.
(ii)For International Sector-
a.30% of the cost of the ticket including taxes, for flights of 1500 kms or less;
b.50% of the cost of ticket, including taxes for flights between 1500 kms to 3500 kms; and
c.75% of the cost of ticket including taxes for flights more than 3500 kms.
According to Brajmohan, from a passenger’s perspective, a downgrade may be unfair and bound to cause inconvenience as per the prevailing rules. “The relief for the passenger would only be in the nature of reimbursement and if the passenger is not adequately reimbursed as per the rules, Solomon & Co. is of the considered view, that the passenger can primarily file a grievance on the Air Sewa App or Portal (https://airsewa.gov.in/home). If the grievance continues to remain unresolved within a reasonable period of time, the passenger can approach the appropriate consumer forum with a complaint against the airline seeking reliefs in the nature of compensation and damages, if any,” said Brajmohan.
As per the passenger’s social media post on X, “We will be putting in a formal complaint and will sue, if need be. @airindia needs to understand that they can’t do whatever they please with paying customers.”
Raising voice helped the passenger get compensation
In the case cited above, the airline compensated the passenger after the passenger’s complaint. The complainant has stated in a post on X (Formerly Twitter), “Here is the update: they’ve compensated 75% of the fare + an upgrade voucher (what a joke). The ground staff in Delhi was extremely rude and behaved in a disgusting manner. My mother was listed in the flight manifest as a business class passenger yet made to ride in economy.”
Also read: How to pay zero charges for flight seat during web check-in? Here’s what Aviation Ministry says.
When can an airline legally downgrade the class of an individual’s paid flight seat
According to a Aviation lawyer who did not want to be quoted, the airline operators / their crew are sometimes constrained to take the step of downgrading tickets due to various reasons such as: –
(a)General reasons: Unserviceable seats, change of aircraft, overbooking, etc. In such cases, Airline Operators will be liable to reimburse the flight ticket charges with taxes.
(b)Due to force majeure reasons: Extraordinary circumstances including political instability, natural disaster, civil war, insurrection or riot, flood, explosion, government regulation etc, which affect the airline operator’s ability to operate flights on schedule or any other factors that are beyond the control of the airline. In such cases, the reimbursement policy may not be applicable.
However, DGCA has not laid out a specific rule that specifies when an airline can downgrade a passenger’s seat. “There isn’t a specific rule or guideline provided by the DGCA that details the criteria for involuntary downgrading,” says Brajmohan.
Before downgrading a passenger’s seat, what should an airline do?
According to the Aviation lawyer who did not want to be quoted, if an airline has downgraded a passenger’s seat, then it must be as per their internal policies and only in exceptional situations. Airline Operators are obligated to display such policies on their website and ticketing documents and adequately inform the passengers about their right to claim reimbursement / compensation from the authorised officials or agents of the airlines.
