'Expected Air India service to improve under Tata, it didn't', Shivraj Singh Chouhan after getting broken seat

When Tata Group won the bid to acquire Air India in October 2021 and formally completed the acquisition process in January 2022, many in the country expressed confidence that the struggling national carrier would reach new heights under the new management. Tata Group was expected to inject money and new life into Air India, which had been struggling with a lack of investment for decades, leaving its planes in a poor state.

CREDIT: BCCL

But nearly three years later, that optimism has waned, and it is not just the common man who has been left disappointed.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan gets broken seat on Air India

Union Minister and senior BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan also expressed his disappointment over Air India¡¯s poor service after he was allotted a broken seat on a flight from Bhopal to Delhi.

The Union Agriculture Minister said that such negligence is unfair to passengers who pay full fare for their tickets.

"I had booked a ticket on Air India flight AI436 from Bhopal to Delhi and was allotted seat number 8C. When I sat down, the seat was broken and sunken in," he wrote.

CREDIT: BCCL

Management knew seat was broken

According to Chouhan, when asked about it, he was informed by the staff that management had already been apprised of the faulty seat and that it should not have been sold.

Chouhan, who declined the offer by his co-passengers to switch seats, termed Air India's actions unethical and accused the airline of cheating passengers.

"I don't care about sitting discomfort, but it is unethical to make passengers sit on bad and uncomfortable seats after charging them the full amount. Isn't this cheating the passengers?" he said.

CREDIT: REUTERS

'Though Air India would improve under Tata'

Chouhan further said that he was disappointed by how Air India is operating under its new management.

"I believed that after Tata took over, Air India's service would have improved, but I was mistaken," he said.

Responding to Chouhan, Air India apologised for the inconvenience and said the airline was looking into the matter carefully to prevent any such occurrences in the future.

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