A three-time Grammy winner, Indian-American composer Ricky Kej, slammed Air India for downgrading him from business class at the last minute and refusing to offer a refund.
Kej claimed that such an incident was happening with him for the third time in one year.
The frustrated composer took to microblogging site X to share his experience. He said that he booked and paid for a business class ticket with the airline for a Mumbai to Bengaluru flight.
However, the staff "rudely" told him at the departure gate that he had been downgraded, without providing any reasons. "...And they cannot give me a refund," he added.
"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," Kej wrote in his X post.
While having operational issues due to uncontrollable factors is alright, Kej said, but to not be able to provide quick and effective solutions for it is "absolutely criminal".
He said that if such an incident of 'downgrading' happens so often, one would imagine that there is a protocol in place, wherein you get immediate refund, immediate intimate, apology for discomfort and options for others flights.
"They do none of the above, and instead are rude, clueless, high-handed and behave as if they are doing a huge favor to you by just boarding you," Kej said.
The composer said that all he needed to know was, "How much of refund will I get, When will I get my refund and How do I get the refund."
"Based on this I can make a decision to change my flight, or board. Also you need to give your customer Peace of mind that I will not have to run from pillar to post to get my refund," he added.
The three-time Grammy winner noted that he would expect a 100 per cent refund since he wasn't offered the service he chose and paid for, adding that "I WILL be taking legal action."
Amid this ordeal he shared on X, he noted that someone from Air India called him but did not clarify anything about the refund.
"How are these guys allowed to run an airline where people's lives are at stake?" he asked.
The airline responded to Kej and said, "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."
Kej told the airline that he has sent them the details via direct messaging, adding that "Let's see how helpful you are @airindia."
"It is time for you to prove you actually care about paying your customers," he added.
Air India had further responded to Kej saying that a resolution had been shared with him via DM. However, the composer said, "No resolution provided. @airindia lies on social media."
In a statement, an Air India spokesperson responded saying that due to technical reasons, the aircraft operating from Mumbai to Bengaluru this morning was changed to an all-economy configuration.
"All passengers booked in business class were accommodated in the first row of the changed aircraft with a seat kept vacant in the middle," the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, several netizens on the social media platform came to Kej's support, telling him to not let the airline go without providing a proper refund.
One of the users wrote that the airline should be "ashamed of behaving with a music legend @rickykej who is a 3 time Grammy award winner", adding that they must "feel proud that he chooses your airlines to fly mostly".
"This sounds crazy, an airline lying like this?" another user reacted.
Meanwhile, another commented, "Nothing new Sir. It's not like they have loop holes in their process, it's a process sandwiched in loopholes at each step."
