Broken Seats: Air India Passenger Slams Airline After Paying Rs 4.5 Lakh for Delhi-Toronto Flight

A mother who recently traveled with her husband and two children from Delhi to Toronto on an Air India aircraft voiced her displeasure with the whole experience, pointing out problems that made the trip unpleasant. Instagram user Shreyti Garg, who paid a substantial sum of Rs 4.5 lakhs for the tickets, chastised the airline for the poor circumstances in a now-viral video.

Garg began by displaying the onboard entertainment systems on their displays and highlighting how completely non-functional they were. She gave an example of how the broken ceiling lights forced her to help her kid in the dark using the flashlight on her phone. Garg also brought up a safety issue, though she could not provide any visual proof of it, about a damaged seat handle with exposed wires that would endanger her kid. “Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the broken seat handle and had to literally shield my toddler from harm while all the wires were coming out of the system,” she said in her post.

Garg reported the unsatisfactory services to the airline personnel, but he did not get a suitable answer. “It seems they rebooted the system but still everything was not working,” she said in a frustrated tone. With two children, we were left defenseless and had to take care of everything alone. Following that, she criticized Air India by saying, “@airindia First of all, the cost of the tickets is already too exorbitant. Moreover, rather than facilitating a comfortable travel experience for all passengers, you made it particularly difficult for parents who are traveling with young children.

The video went viral right after, with more than 2.8 million views and a ton of comments. “This was the same case with me in toronto delhi sector none of screen was working, earlier i thought its a temporary issue but now iam sure its permanent,” said a user who had a similar experience. “Absolutely agree,” said another in echo. On our return journey to Toronto with Air India, we had the same scenario.

There were, nonetheless, opposing viewpoints. “Imagine thinking that the airlines are responsible for entertaining and looking after your children on a flight,” one user mockingly commented. Before onboard screens were introduced, I wonder how parents ever traveled with kids. “You paid for travel, not entertainment,” another person said. An added benefit is entertainment. This type of material confuses a lot of folks. Most likely as a result of ignorance.

Air India has not yet replied to the widely shared footage.