IAS officer accuses British Airways of racist policies after last-minute downgrading of seat

Mumbai bureaucrat Ashwini Bhide said that she has often found that this racist policy of the foreign airlines was a 'common practice' by British Airways at the airport.

Mumbai: A senior IAS officer from Mumbai has accused British Airways of racist policies and discriminatory practices after she was downgraded from her premium economy seat and not refunded the difference in fare. Ashwini Bhide, who is the head of the Mumbai Coastal Road project, narrated her experience on X and slammed the airlines for what she called their "common practice".

"Are you cheating or following discriminatory/racist policies, British Airways? How come you downgrade a premium economy passenger at the check-in counter on the false pretext of overbooking without even paying the price difference and forget about compensation? I’m told this is a common practice by British Airways in Mumbai." Bhide wrote.

• Are you cheating or following discriminatory/racist policies @British_Airways ? How come u downgrade a premium economy passenger at check-in counter on false pretext of overbooking without even paying price difference forget about compensation? I’m told this is a common…

  — Ashwini Bhide (@AshwiniBhide) January 12, 2024 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  Are you cheating or following discriminatory/racist policies @British_Airways ? How come u downgrade a premium economy passenger at check-in counter on false pretext of overbooking without even paying price difference forget about compensation? I’m told this is a common…

  — Ashwini Bhide (@AshwiniBhide) January 12, 2024

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  Are you cheating or following discriminatory/racist policies @British_Airways ? How come u downgrade a premium economy passenger at check-in counter on false pretext of overbooking without even paying price difference forget about compensation? I’m told this is a common…

  — Ashwini Bhide (@AshwiniBhide) January 12, 2024

Responding to her post, a representative of the airlines wrote, "Hi there, if you've been downgraded due to overbooking, you're entitled to any difference in the fare paid. Our Customer Relations team will look into this and advise of any compensation due. We're sorry to hear what happened and apologise for the inconvenience. If you wish to submit your complaint to our Customer Relations team, please use the following link: http://ba.com/complaints."

According to sources, Bhide's son Malhar, too, faced a similar experience with the airlines a couple of months ago. Malhar had booked a premium economy ticket to London and had even completed his web check-in in advance. However, the airlines refused to provide him with the particular seat citing "overbooking." Disrespectfully, the airlines offered him a mere 75 pounds.

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