Hyderabad: Ricky Kej, the three-time Grammy award-winning musician, voiced his frustration on Saturday regarding Air India's treatment during his recent travel experience. He accused the airline of unexpectedly 'downgrading' him from business class to economy class without prior notification and claimed he was denied a refund for the service downgrade. The music composer conveyed his dissatisfaction with the way he was treated by the airline staff, specifically singling out the behaviour of a person at the service counter whom he described as "absolutely not helpful and impolite."
Wow.. 3rd time this is happening to me in one year. I booked and paid for a business class ticket on @airindia from Mumbai to Bengaluru. When I reach departure gate, the staff rudely tells me that I have been downgraded (for no reason) and they cannot give me a refund. What's up…
— Ricky Kej (@rickykej) August 3, 2024
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Kej wrote, "Wow.. 3rd time this is happening to me in one year. I booked and paid for a business class ticket on @airindia from Mumbai to Bengaluru. When I reach departure gate, the staff rudely tells me that I have been downgraded (for no reason) and they cannot give me a refund. What's up with AirIndia? The person on the counter is Nishita Singh. Absolutely not helpful, and impolite. @airindia really needs to introspect and see if they are capable of running an airline in the first place. I am currently at the departure gate. Flight taking off at 9.25am @TataCompanies."
In reaction to Kej's post, Air India responded by assuring him that they take such matters seriously. The airline emphasised its zero-tolerance policy for rude behaviour at all customer touchpoints. They reached out to Kej on X, asking him to share his booking details by sending a direct message to help resolve the issue. Air India wrote, "Dear Mr. Kej, we wish to assure you that rude behavior is not at all accepted at any of our contact points and we always strive to offer courteous and hassle-free experience to our passengers. Kindly help us with the booking details via DM to address this."
Dear Mr. Kej, we wish to assure you that rude behavior is not at all accepted at any of our contact points and we always strive to offer courteous and hassle-free experience to our passengers. Kindly help us with the booking details via DM to address this.
— Air India (@airindia) August 3, 2024
This incident is not the first time Kej has criticised Indian airlines. Previously, in October 2022, he shared a video capturing a cockroach onboard an IndiGo flight, which led to an apology from the airline and commitments to enhance their hygiene protocols.
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