The dream that "was" Air India - an experience of a life time

Hi friends

Been away from my blog for some time...

But I have to write again.

This is about India's flagship carrier Air India which provided me with my worst travel experience till date. 

Day 1 - June 1' 2013
I began my journey on June 1' 2013 from the JFK, New York airport, USA bound for Kolkata, India. I was scheduled to reach on June 2' 2013.

I shall start off with my experience at the baggage counter. My baggage were overweight and had to be trimmed down. At the end of it, I ended up with a set of four check in luggage instead of three that I had initially planned for. I handed out 400$ to the Air India desk to pay for my 2 extra pieces of luggage. 

Exhibit 1: Receipt at the JFK airport for extra 2 pieces of luggage

Anyway, I had it done and after the needed security checks I boarded the flight. I took my window seat and found the headphones to be broken. The towels were clearly unwashed and had hair on them.

I settled down and surrendered to my destiny with no idea that the worst part was yet to surface.

After a part of my journey, I decided to relieve myself and went to the washroom. The basin had hair and water clogged in it. There were hardly any napkins, some were strewn on the floor. The toilet bowl was difficult to use given the amount of dirt on it, but I shut down my senses and forgot about it.

Anyway, the food was okay. The flying staff were courteous.

Day 2 - June 2' 2013 - Delhi Airport
After a long journey, I finally reached Delhi Airport. At the Delhi Airport, I had my immigration done and proceeded to pick up my baggage from the carousel. Three of my bags arrived fine, but one did not. This had never happened to me before and I was at my wit's end as I stared blankly at the empty carousel revolving again and again with no bag on it left. The staff of Air India started inquiring of me if I was expecting another baggage to which I nodded a nervous yes! 

I took out the 4 luggage claim tags provided to me at the JFK Airport and provided them to the Air India desk so that they could file the PIR (Property Irregularity Report) on my behalf. 

Exhibit 2: Property Irregularity Report (PIR) copy

I was told that this was a normal phenomenon and that I should expect my bag to arrive by the next flight.

At this time, I was worried, but was taken by the assurances and proceeded with my journey.

I was supposed to take the Air India flight from Delhi at 5PM IST, but found out that it had been rescheduled at 6PM IST. 

I boarded the flight and this leg of the journey was event less. The food was good and the flying staff were courteous. I did not need the washroom (thankfully).

Day 2 - June 2' 2013 - Kolkata Airport
I landed at the Kolkata airport and immediately started waiting at the carousel for my bags to arrive. The ones I received at the Delhi airport arrived fine, but the one that was missing was still missing.
I checked with the Air India person who was on a call at that time. He seemed to be more interested in his call than about speaking with me. Anyway, I finally received a dry reply that I would have to call the following day at a land line number if I needed any information.

I was happy about reaching home but my happiness was marred by this sad incident.

The next few days were spent in endless calls and emails with the Air India baggage services team based in Delhi. Finally I was told that the bag was still at JFK and found in tagless condition in the Delta premises!!!

On Wed, Jun 5, 2013 at 11:15 AM, DEL BAGSVCS <DEL.BAGSVCS@airindia.in > wrote:

Dear Sir,

This has reference to your mail below.

At the outset please accept our sincere apology for the inconvenience caused.

We wish to advise you that the bag is traced with Newyork Delta without tag but same has your 

name and address on it.We have requested Delta airlines to forward this bag to India but unfortunately

no forwarding details  are advised so far.

We are requesting our Newyork office to laise with Delta and revert on priority basis.

We shall keep you advise the status.

Regards

Harminder Kaur

Baggage Services Delhi

I was unable to understand how an Air India checked-in bag could be found in tagless condition. This took another few days just to get Delta re-deliver this bag to Air India JFK to move it to India and this email probably helped.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: DEL BAGSVCS

Date: Thu, Jun 6, 2013 at 4:06 PM
Subject: AHLDELAI49953/OHDJFKDL14329
To: Donald.h.ricker@delta.com, Chiranjib Mazumdar
Cc: JFK Baggage Services , Riwo Norbhu


Dear Mr Ricker,

Greetings !

This has reference to the trailing mail.

We wish to bring to your notice that the above OHDJFKDL14329 is definite match for our
AHLDELAI49953 favour Mr Chiranjib Mazumdar.

Despite our ROH requests/PXF messages/TELE typt msgs to forward the above OHD on firav to Delhi on 03JUN/04JUN/05JUN,
the same was forwarded to HDQDL on board DL1731/03JUN under rush tags DL051929/DL282723.

We need your urgent intervention in the matter as baggage contains very important documents and required by
passenger on urgent basis.It has become very difficult for us to explain the passenger regarding delay in
getting the bag from Delta.

Regards
Harminder Kaur
Baggage Services Delhi

JFKAI-You are also requested to liaise with Delta and revert with forwarding details.

Finally I was told that the bag would reach on June 10' 2013. I was happy about it and even appreciated the person who had put her effort in getting the bag delivered.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Chiranjib Mazumdar
Date: Mon, Jun 10, 2013 at 11:51 AM
Subject: Re: AHLDELAI49953/OHDJFKDL14329
To: DEL BAGSVCS

Hi Harminder

Thanks a lot!!!

Really appreciate your hard work on this.

Please let me know when the bag is boarded for Kolkata!

Thanks again!

Chiranjib


On Mon, Jun 10, 2013 at 11:31 AM, DEL BAGSVCS <DEL.BAGSVCS@airindia.in> wrote:

Dear Sir,

Greetings !

This has reference to mail below.

We wish to advise you that bag is received in Delhi just now.

We shall clear the bag from customs and advise you the forwarding details for Kolkatta.

Regards

Harminder Kaur

Air India Kolkata finally delivered the bag to me on June 11' 2013. But my happiness was converted to doubt the moment I had a look at the lock.

My TSA lock was intact but the hooks were opened. The lock had been broken! It was temporarily sealed with a yellow tape. The person who delivered the bag asked for tips and I replied back - "I would have, had the lock not been broken."

Picture Notes: Please observe the TSA lock intact, but one hook has been tampered and displaced from its base, so it is dangling by the lock. The other end is fixed as usual, but of course this helped the thieves steal.

I could not wait to check my bag after I returned home with it and yes, my worst fears had come true!

This is what was missing -

Wrist Watches - Count 4
Macbook charger - Count 2
Commemorative 50 states of USA quarter set - Count 1
Portable 2TB Seagate hard disk - Count 1

Apple IPad Charger - Count 1

Dolica Camera Tripod - Count 1

The loss, more than monitory, was of emotional value as some of the items were intended for gifts and even the others have to be purchased by me all over again! 

I got in touch with Air India and notified them about this loss...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Chiranjib Mazumdar
Date: Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 6:02 PM
Subject: Re: AHLDELAI49953/OHDJFKDL14329
To: DEL BAGSVCS

Cc: baggageservicesccu@gmail.com, CCU BAGSVCS , ER CustomerService


Hi - Please find below the updated list of missing items -
Wrist Watches - Count 4
Macbook charger - Count 2
Commemorative 50 states of USA quarter set - Count 1
Portable 2TB hard disk - Count 1
Dolica tripod - Count 1
Ipad2 charger - Count 1
Sorry, if I knew that my items will be stolen from your "esteemed" carrier, I would have listed everything down prior to boarding my aircraft.
I shall update my list as I remember stuff I had.
Please let me know what you can do!


On Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 4:36 PM, DEL BAGSVCS wrote:


    Dear Mr. Mazumdar,
    
    This has reference to our telephonic conversation and your trailing mail regarding some items alleged to be missing from your mishandled baggage delivered by our Kolkata Office today.
    
    At the outset, please accept our sincere apologies for all the inconvenience caused to you due to the above.
    
    Further, please be advised that as per procedure, the Station which delivers the mishandled baggage, is required to conclude any claim which may arise post-delivery of the same.  Since the mishandled baggage was delivered by our Kolkata Office, we request you to liaise with them.  This mail is being marked to the Kolkata Office also for their necessary action.
    
    Thanking You and assuring you of our prompt attention at all times.
    
    Yours faithfully,
    
    R.R. Khurana
    Dy. Manager- Baggage Services/INTL.
    
    -----Chiranjib Mazumdar wrote: -----
    To: DEL BAGSVCS



    From: Chiranjib Mazumdar
    Date: 11/06/2013 03:06PM
    Cc: CCU BAGSVCS
    Subject: Re: AHLDELAI49953/OHDJFKDL14329


    Hi - I received my bag today, but regret to inform you that I found the lock to be broken and temporarily sealed with a plastic fixer. I mentioned this fact in my "receipt note" from the delivery man. When I came home with the bag and I opened it, I found several items missing. List below -
    Wrist Watches - Count 4
    Macbook charger - Count 2
    Commemorative 50 states of USA quarter set - Count 1
    Portable 2TB hard disk - Count 1
    These are the ones that I can remember at this point in time.
    I am deeply saddened by this loss, as I did pay extra 400$ just to bring in 2 extra pieces of check-in luggage.
    I wish to know what steps you can take to compensate me for this loss, because I have travelled with Lufthansa, Emirates, American Airlines in the past and this is the first time this happened to me!
    This was be my last trip with Air India, I promise you!
    I would wait for your response...
    Thanks,
    Chiranjib
The Delhi baggage services told me to get in touch with Kolkata as they had delivered the bag to me. The Kolkata baggage services told me to get in touch with Delhi and none of them had a clue on what could be done.

The Kolkata Air India duty manager called me up one afternoon (June 15' 2013) and told me he was sorry about the loss and that he had seen my emails but he reiterated that he had delivered the bag the way it had been received. He did not wish to take ownership of the loss. When I insisted that I was not the person responsible for the loss, he said he would connect with Delhi on this, but after that no response was received.

Since then I have tried to send multiple emails to get a response from them on any sort of compensation, but no positive responses were received and today I found out while replying back that my email to them had been marked as "spam"!  

Air India, being India's flagship airline carrier - Can we not expect greater initiative to provide for customer satisfaction? Do we board international flights to have stuff stolen from our bags? Who is responsible for the fact that my check in bag was found like an orphan in tag less state? Who is responsible for affixing tags to bags? 

IF CUSTOMERS' EMAILS START GETTING MARKED AS SPAM INSTEAD OF RECEIVING APPROPRIATE RESPONSES, WELL, I CAN ONLY SAY...

GOD HELP AIR INDIA!

And finally, I wrote my last email to Air India yesterday and they did not respond, as I expected...

From: Chiranjib Mazumdar
Subject: Attn: AIR India Head Quarters, AIR India Customer Services or anyone from Air India who cares about customers!Date: June 24, 2013 11:28:02 AM GMT+05:30To: Sangeeta Vaidya , DEL BAGSVCS , HQ TFCSVCS , ER CustomerService , CCU APT , CCU BAGSVCS , del.reservationmanager@airindia.in
Attn: AIR India Head Quarters, AIR India Customer Services or anyone from Air India who cares about customers!
Hi - I need a reply from you to conclude this conversation.
For the aforesaid details mentioned (File reference: AHLDELAI49953/OHDJFKDL14329), given the fact that I incurred a loss of the items below after I received my lost baggage in lock broken, temporary sealed condition, is your airlines liable or able to compensate me?
A simple yes or no will help me.
Please do not send me standard customer communication templates (we are sorry blah blah). I need a simple "Yes, we will provide compensation" OR "No we will not provide compensation." [I assume you do not have the capability to retrieve stolen items]
Can you KINDLY do that PLEASE?
List of items stolen -
Wrist Watches - Count 4Macbook charger - Count 2Commemorative 50 states of USA quarter set - Count 1 Portable 2TB Seagate hard disk - Count 1Apple IPad Charger - Count 1Dolica Camera Tripod - Count 1[There may be more items, but sorry, I did not list them down before packing my baggage]
I incurred an estimated loss IN EXCESS OF Rs. 25000 plus harassment / agony for this unforeseen delay and eventually loss!I paid 400$ for 2 extra pieces of baggage at the JFK NY Airport.
I shall take no response from you by end of day tomorrow (June 25' 2013) as a negative response from your end and I will understand that you will not provide me any sort of compensation!
Based on your response or a lack of it, I shall think about next steps to take.

-- Best regards,Chiranjib Mazumdar

I do not plan to travel with this airline in future based on my experience and readers, based on what you have read, I shall leave it to you to decide what you would like to do!

Update (July 30' 2013) - Air India provided me with some compensation.

     

Life here and the life there...

Life goes on...

I just wonder why everything is reverse out here.

List of things that are reverse (ultaa):

1. The chauffeur's seat is on the left side in a car.

2. The zip of jackets are attached to the right.

3. The switches get turned on in the reverse direction.

4. The plug sockets and pins are of a different kind altogether which ensures that gadgets bought here have to have a converter for them to work properly there.

5. These people need to save day light and all, which means that the difference between IST (Indian Standard Time) and EST(Eastern Standard Time) which was 9.5 hours till November mid, is now 10.5 hours. This will continue till around March next year.

However, I am really happy with the courtesy sense of people in general. Whoever, you meet, never mind you know or not, will greet you with a smiling face and say "Hi", "Hello". This really leaves you with a happy state of mind and you never feel that you are an alien.

Onsite life isn't easy by any stretch of imagination. You are in charge of your own life and be assured, your sense of responsibility will be thoroughly tested. If you have a tendency to be lethargic, all I can say is "Best of luck", coz., then only luck can save you.

I came to know after coming here, why USA is considered to be a developed nation while India (in spite of being a nation to watch out for) still has miles to go.

Let me jot down few of the points:

1. Work Ethics - People are not really bothered by what you wear. You do not need a costly suit to show that you work. But what matters is - how efficiently you work and how dedicated you are. No one knows the definition of a strike. Work needs to be done and that's it. Full stop. Time management is vital.

I wonder in India, when will people understand the importance of this. We still hear - strikes being called - no one knows why! Does it really make an impact? Ambulances are still being smashed. Office windows are being broken. Doctors are taken out of their vehicles and beaten up only because they wished to attend the need of an ailing patient on the day of strike!

Our so called 'leaders' - excuse me, I call them 'dealers'... most of them are pure illiterates, with scant regard for the common mass.

logon ko burbak banaye rakhne mein hi bhalayi hai -- their motto! And man power available for cheap. Throw cash, hire goons, buy power. Simple, eh?

2. Discipline - Law is a law - not meant to be broken. But, when breaking law is fashion, who can help! Burning buses, mob lynching, burning the national flag... we do have a long way to go. People respect law and order here, and there are far fewer mishaps and vandalism. Police is feared. I do not say, there is no corruption. Everywhere, there is.... But the extent of corruption is far lesser, which is why the whole system is far more organized. The only catch is -- too much system dependency sometimes come in the way of common sense.

3. Population - This should have been the first point. Hum do, humare do... is still not working for a humongous part of the population. The result - geometric growth of population. Add to that - the growth of illegal immigrants. Whatever be the GDP growth, every penny is being eaten up. USA does have stringent immigrant rules and they DO implement them properly. Not so in India. Bangladesh, Nepal especially have extremely porous borders - not to mention Pakistan and China.

4. Education - Let me give a simple example. If you go to a Big Bazaar or City Center in India, or any of the shopping malls, go to any section and start looking for items. In no time, you would see a sales 'associate' appearing from nowhere. Even if you don't ask for help, he or she will continue to notice your every movement. Come on, are we all kleptomaniacs? Besides, this is so disrespectful. However, it happens only in India. The reason.... mishaps happen, things are stolen. Remember? ...breaking law is the fashion. So, normal people bear the brunt of a few miscreants. Not so in the US. You are left alone. Do whatever shopping you want. They do have technology (read spy cams) to take care of the monitoring part. But at least, it is not disrespectful. The trust is very much there. Now, why did I write all of these under Education... because education alone instills moral values. When you have moral values, when you know - snatching and stealing things is immoral, everything has a value and needs to be paid, these things do not occur. I don't care - how many million graduates pass out every year. What I wish to see is - those disrespectful glances should not hinder me, when I am trying to decide which shirt would fit me better. Way to go.......

Back to onsite life. The good part is - I can cook confidently now! So, you won't understand how happy that makes me feel. I always felt handicapped, when my friends used to boast of their culinary abilities. I can confidently match them now. :P

However, all said.... do I miss my country? Oh yes, I definitely do...

Journey to US

Friends, it has been a long time, since I posted last. Actually the shift from India to US ensured that I did not have time for many of my favorite pastimes including 'blogging'. Its not been too long that I have landed here. Whereas the onsite life has its own challenges, it does present in front of you a gamut of opportunities. So, from here on, till the time I reach India again, every post would detail out my life here.

To start, let me tell you friends, that this was my first flight. haha!! Never ever did I fly before and that too a complex route - Kolkata-Dubai, Dubai-JFK, JFK-Philadelphia. Being alone, with two huge trolley bags and a hand luggage, it was quite a challenge... made worse by the fact that I was an absolute novice. Prior to this, I had hardly left my state West Bengal and here I was leaving India altogether for the land of a certain Mr Obama.

I would detail some interesting pieces of my journey - which I hope you people would like.

1. Air-hostesses of Emirates
Emirates is worth flying not only for the hospitality that they provide but also for the beautiful air-hostesses. Irrespective of the race, each one of them were special. Right - They are taught to smile, their profession demands it. But the beautiful aura exuded by them cannot be taught by any institute. From the Kolkata airport, I boarded the flight and was pleasantly surprised by the gadgetry. It took me some time and some sideways glances at other co-passengers to figure out how each of the devices worked. (Remember I was a first-time flier). A certain friend had suggested me to find the washroom first as that is the most important place to go while on air. As I could not figure that out, I had to ask one of those maidens as to the exact location of the place. She readily showed me the way. Incidentally there were two foreigners (not sure which country) sitting right in front of me. The lady gave me a look which suggested I had made a cardinal sin in asking that question! Any way... was good fun otherwise. The food was delicious - not too much, not too less, just what was required. The rest of the trip till Dubai - I browsed through the numerous playlists available and slept the rest of the time. Finally I arrived Dubai.


2. Ordeal at the Dubai airport
Dubai Airport is probably one of the best in business throughout the world. Not only because of the huge area but also because of the glitz and glamor associated. I was lucky enough to have a guy walking with me who incidentally hailed from Kolkata like me. Given the complexity of the route, it was only because of him that I could figure out the correct terminal within a short span of time. While at the Dubai airport, we strolled a little bit and admired the sales expo in progress. The local time was 2AM, but it was difficult to interpret seeing how busy people were.


3. Dubai to JFK
In the flight I had pre-selected a window seat, but had to give it up when an elderly man requested me through an air-hostess that he needed that seat as his old mother was seated next to me and was a first time flier. I agreed reluctantly and got placed in the middle seat in the next row in between a middle aged lady and a Thai guy. The seat had been swapped alright - but my lunch and dinner? This I found out later - My meal preferences were actually tagged to my seat, Since it was a completely unofficial arrangement, the beautiful air-hostesses completely forgot that the seat had been swapped. Resultant - My meals were being delivered to him. By the time, someone found this out - the guy had already eaten 2 puris out of the slotted 4 that the airline provide. When asked if he had touched the food, he said, "No" and I, in the spirit of sportsmanship said, "No probs, mate" :D. Later some extra delicacies were also served to my seat number (old) and I drank some water instead.


4. At the JFK Airport
After a hugely time taking journey of around 13 hours, I reached the JFK airport. Complied with the essential requirements - immigration checks etc etc, collected the luggage (as it was the port of entry), handed the luggage back over to Delta as they would transport them to my final destination and called home. I had bought calling cards from Kolkata. So, calling home was not supposed to be a big deal. However, I was unable to find the right telephone which would accept the calling card. Finally I was able to detect one and called home. Satisfied that an important task had been done, I decided to go to the terminal from where my flight to Philadelphia would commence. As I found out, I needed to board an air train which took me to the required terminal. By that time, I was already feeling something in my stomach (I was hungry, silly). Once I reached the terminal, I decided to have some snacks from Starbucks and water. Snacks was okay, but when I asked for water the lady handed me over another snacks and billed me. I was surprised because I had asked for water. Later when I looked for the label - the pronunciation of the thing was similar to 'water'!!! I had to actually finish the food, go back there and this time, I pulled up a bottle myself (didn't risk telling her again) and asked, "How much?"
I was back at my seat, waiting impatiently for when the flight would show up on the charter. The bottle was meanwhile stranded in my hand. I was extremely thirsty, but could not quench my thirst, because (you won't believe the reason), I was unable to open the seal !! Two elderly ladies looked at me and one of them commented, "You would need to open that.." ..(as if I did not know that). Bisleri or Kinley bottles in India are easy to open. But here it took me quite a while to drive a nail in between the seal and flip it open. Finally satisfied, I sipped into the water...

5. Reached Philadelphia airport.
The plane was hardly on air for 35 minutes, when the pilot announced to tie the seat belts again.
Everything was fine at the airport... only MY LUGGAGE HAD NOT ARRIVED!! It drove me crazy figuring out where to complain. First I knocked at the Continental Airlines office and they were surprised to hear about Emirates. Seemed they heard the name for the first time!! Then I found out Delta office (I was sweating profusely by then... after the numerous carousal checks and all) and reported the issue to them. They took down my complaint and as I was returning, I asked them, "Is there a point in looking for the luggage one last time?". One of the ladies replied, "Yes, please go ahead." And voila! It was there. My trolley bags were looking at me and smiling. :))


I took a cab and came to my apartment. Unfortunately the apartment was not ready. So, after staying over for 3 nights at 2 different hotels, I finally moved in to this apartment.