National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi (NCDRC): Justice V.K. Jain, Presiding Member, directed Jet Airways India Limited to pay a sum of Rs 1 lakh as compensation for failing to inform the complainant about the change of time.
Complainant is a doctor by profession, who booked an air ticket through Yahoo Tour and Travels on Jet Airways flight from Raipur to Kolkata. Later two flights were combined and the combined flight left Raipur at 10.40 a.m., i.e. 10 hours before the scheduled time of departure, recorded in the ticket issued to the complainant. As a result, the complainant could not appear in the examination he was supposed to appear. Aggrieved with the same, he approached the District Forum by way of a consumer complaint claiming compensation under several heads.
Jet Airways India Ltd. stated that the two flights were combined for commercial reasons and the same was duly intimated to Yatra Online Pvt. Limited and they were also informed in this regard by the call centre of Jet Airways India Ltd.
Yahoo Tours and Travels stated that the mobile number of the complainant having been given to Jet Airways, it was the Airline’s duty to inform the complainant about the re-scheduling.
District Forum allowed the complaint by directing them to refund the amount of Rs 38432 with a compensation of Rs 11 lakhs to the complainant. On being aggrieved with the same, they reached the State Commission where the compensation was reduced to Rs 1 lakh and the other direction remained the same. Finally, on still not being satisfied by the State Commission’s order, they reached this Commission.
NCDRC noted that, the tickets were booked through Yahoo Tour and Travels. The tickets were not booked by the complainants through Yatra Online Pvt. Ltd. Therefore, as far as Yahoo Tours and Travels is concerned, no evidence was present with respect to rescheduling of the flight was given to them. Yahoo Tour and Travels cannot be said to be deficient in rendering services to the complainant merely because tickets were booked through this agency.
As far as Jet Airways India Limited is concerned, it did not even claim to have intimated the change in the scheduled time of the flight to the complainant. Therefore, Jet Airways India Ltd. was clearly deficient in rendering services to the complainant due to non-intimation of the re-scheduling to the complainant.
Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, compensation was decided to be Rs 1 lakh along with simple interest @9% p.a. from the date of the order of the District Forum.[Yahoo Tour and Travels v. Dr Akash Lalwani, 2019 SCC OnLine NCDRC 166, decided on 07-08-2019]
