Kingfisher you ruined my T3 experience

You plan for a trip home for a full month and are double excited because you will be on your first visit to the largest airport terminal in the country, and everything goes as planned till the moment you enter the airport, after which things go crazily wrong- how would you feel? Angry? Disappointed?

Well, I felt both, when I went through one of the most harrowing experience at the Indira Gandhi International Airport's new Terminal 3, today morning.

On my insistence, my ticket was booked in a Kingfisher Red flight to Bhubaneshwar because I wanted to see the grandeur of Terminal 3. I was all excited and since days I had been researching on the web, gathering all possible information regarding it and seeing videos on youtube. Finally this morning, I reached the airport and entered the terminal building, an hour prior to the scheduled departure of my flight.

5.30 AM: I entered Terminal 3 of the IGI Airport.
Checked the scheduled flights screen and saw the status of my flight (Kingfisher Red, Flight # IT-3349: Check-in Open
Joined the single queue serving the 14 Kingfisher check-in counters.

5.30- 5.50 AM: Announcements for urgent check-in for flights to Bangalore and Kolkata are made.

5.50 AM: I am finally able to reach the check in counter.
My ticket and ID are verified. I am given the ‘tag’ for the hand baggage.
I am asked if I need a Window or an Aisle seat. I say I need a Window seat, and add that the seat (29-F) has been pre-booked. I am told that no seat has been pre-booked. I am asked if I have any luggage. I say yes, and hand over my suitcase. Next, I am told that I need to go to counter #12 immediately so that the check-in can be done.

I proceed to counter #12 with my luggage. I hand over my ticket and then I am told that check-in has been closed and I am late and I need to go and re-book my ticket!

There are already other passengers who are protesting for the same reason. We are told that an announcement was made for the Bhubaneswar flight and check-in closed at 5.45 AM.

Everyone protest that no such announcement had been made since 5.30, when they joined the queue. We are referred to talk to the manager who is not available for the next 15 minutes.

We talk to the manager and tell him what happened. The manager Mr Sunny says he made the announcement himself and is not ready to accept the fact that we were standing in the queue. He blames us and says that “You reached late”.

A group of 9 people, a family of 3 and I were at least thirteen people who were affected by this completely untrue fact that was being imposed on us. I met many more people who faced the same problem, at the re-booking counter. In total there were at least 20-25 people who had been affected.

The other Kingfisher employees who we talked to were not at all ready to listen to our pleas. They started fighting and blaming us!

After all that happened and which lasted for over an hour, I finally left the airport around 7.15 AM. Ever exited an airport from its departure terminal? It's an experience in its own! Haha...try it.


I am just hoping that this incident finds its way to the media somehow! Let the crooks be screwed!

Comments

  1. Put it in face book, twitter and all possible social networking sites. The message has to reach Mr Vijay Mallya somehow. Raising voice against such type of injustice and fighting for your rights is the basic thing Indians do not do. It is only because of such public apathy and lack of courage to protest against injustice corruption is plaguing this country. Young India should refuse to be exploited by the corrupt systems of this country. Then only can things improve.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Datz realy unfair... Does dat mean u hv 2 pay d full amount 1ce again nw???

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Papa- Let's see what happens...
    @Pallabi- Yea. it is unfair...not the whole, but yes, parts of it had to be paid...no option left...

    ReplyDelete

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