27-4-2024 (SINGAPORE) Singapore Airlines (SIA) has been directed to compensate two passengers a sum of 200,000 rupees (equivalent to S$3,300) plus additional costs following a complaint concerning malfunctioning recliner seats on a flight from Hyderabad to Australia.
Mr Ravi Gupta, the Director-General of Police in India’s Telangana state, along with his wife, was aboard the flight on May 23, 2023, travelling in business class. They encountered a problem when they discovered that their seats could not recline electronically.
This malfunction caused inconvenience to Mr Ravi and his wife, compelling them to remain upright throughout the nearly 14-hour flight, despite having paid a total of 133,500 rupees for their plane tickets, as reported by the Indian news outlet Deccan Chronicle.
Mr Gupta lodged a complaint with the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-III in Hyderabad, which ruled in their favour, ordering Singapore Airlines to refund 97,500 rupees to the couple, along with an interest charge of 12 per cent from the date of the complaint.
Furthermore, the airline was instructed to compensate the duo with 100,000 rupees for their “mental agony and physical suffering”, in addition to covering the cost of the complaint, amounting to 10,000 rupees.
The total sum awarded stands at approximately S$3,580.
Although the airline had proposed offering the couple 10,000 KrisFlyer miles each as compensation, they declined the offer.
The couple had purchased Business Z class seats, which are offered at a discounted rate and are non-refundable.
Business class seats are expected to have automatic reclining functionality via electronic controls.
In their complaint, Mr and Mrs Gupta expressed feeling akin to economy class passengers due to the malfunction, despite having extra legroom, according to the Deccan Chronicle.
In a statement to The Straits Times, SIA acknowledged the commission’s decision.
“SIA can confirm that while the automatic recline function on Mr and Mrs Gupta’s seats was faulty, the manual recline function was working. We apologise to Mr and Mrs Gupta for the inconvenience caused by this mechanical issue,” the airline stated.
However, the airline did not address queries regarding whether they would comply with the order to compensate the couple or if they intended to appeal the decision.
Meanwhile, Indigo Airlines was also directed to pay a passenger 30,000 rupees for failing to inform him promptly of his flight cancellation.
The passenger’s flight was scheduled for 10.05 am, but the airline sent the cancellation message at 4.31 am on the same day, as reported by The New Indian Express.
However, the passenger only received the message at 8 am while en route to the airport.
The airline attributed the flight cancellation to “operational constraints beyond their control” but was unable to provide evidence of this later on.
