Air India Avis 102

Air India have the worse and most incompetent Customer Service, they are pretty much non-existant and non-compliant with regulations, they are impossible to get through by phone and when you get through you either get cut-off or they mislead you by giving you the wrong information. Then when you write to them via the online page, they never reply either - even though the useless agent on the phone had said they will respond withing 24 hours!! They never respond they should be reported to the regulator. I will do without further ado. To date my

On 19/04/2023 I went to the Air India baggage check desk at Malpensa to fly to Dehli/Bangalore (PNR: TSJOAD, flight AI0138). An employee asked me for my passport, I showed it and she approved it. The employee asked me for a visa, I showed it (one year tourist) and she approved it. The clerk asked me for a return ticket and I replied that I don't have it. The employee called a colleague (later identified as Mr. St...no G...a) who told me that he denies me boarding if I don't show the return ticket. I explained that this rule is not written anywhere. The clerk took my visa and highlighted the sentence on the visa " Continuous stay in India on each entry should not exceed 90 days. " which according to him is equivalent to the obligation to show the return ticket. I confirmed my plan is to stay 45 to 60 days. The clerk explained to me that the Indian border police require proof of re-entry embodied in the return ticket. I explained that this rule is not written when applying for a visa, nor on the visa, nor on the Air India website at any time, much less when purchasing one-way tickets. The clerk insists that these are the rules and that they must be followed. I confirm that the rules must be respected if there are any, but this rule is not written anywhere. At that point the employee cuts short and says that he denies me boarding if I don't show the return ticket, because he must and wants to defend Air India from sanctions by the Indian border police if they detect immigration irregularities in India (eg lack of return ticket) of Air India passengers. I ask to speak to a manager and he tells me he is the manager. The manager offers me the only options of denying boarding or buying a return ticket at the airport. He also added that I am "lucky" because the plane is two hours late and this allows me to buy time. Noting that no assertion of my rights was possible at that time/place and that the necessary treatment for a very seriously ill elderly patient depended on my immediate and irreplaceable entry into India, I decided to leave the baggage check-in counter to buy a ticket back. Just before leaving, the manager warns me and repeats me not to return with a return ticket reservation, but with a return ticket and the receipt of his payment.

I purchase the return ticket with my notebook in a state of great discomfort, a lot of confusion and a lot of haste. Shortly before boarding, I will discover that these conditions have led me to buy and pay for a return ticket with the wrong date and the wrong baggage options.

I go back to the Air India counter and ask for the manager. The colleague who welcomed me earlier tells me that he is in the office. I ask for her name and her colleague replies "St...no G...a".
I show the ticket and the payment receipt and the clerk lets me access the baggage check-in counter.
During check-in of my luggage, the clerk compliments me because I managed to buy the return ticket (which I didn't want and couldn't buy, as the exact date of my return would have depended on the course of my stay medical accompaniment).
I firmly rejected the compliments and retorted that the service Air India provided me as a passenger was very bad, as Air India did not inform me in any way and moment what checks I would be subjected to after purchasing my one-way ticket gone. Similarly, I have expressed my concern and regret at the disservice, inconvenience and threat to which all Air India passengers who purchase a one-way ticket from the European Union have been, are and will be exposed to towards India.

During baggage check-in, I asked the same employee how I can complain to Air India. The clerk replies that there is no particular way to complain. I insist and the employee replies that my complaint would have no effect. I replied that I would do my duty, which is to complain in such a way that the circumstances I have suffered are not suffered by any other Air India passenger after me; if then Air India will ignore my complaint to serve its passengers better, it will assume its responsibilities.

The dialogue between the parties was excited at times but always polite.

All complaint channels are out of service.