BEFORE THE CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM, ERNAKULAM.

 Date of filing :  23.12.2015

                                                                                              Date of Order : 30.06.2017

PRESENT:

 Shri. Sheen Jose,                                                 Member (President-in-charge)
 Smt. Beena Kumari V.K.                              Member.

                            CC.No.837/2015

                                   Between

O R D E R

Beena Kumari V.K.   Member 

1)     A brief statement of facts of this complaint is as stated below:

         The complainant Sri.Abraham Renn S., is an Indian Revenue Service Officer (IRS) currently holding the post of Assistant Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise Department under Cochin Commissionerate.  As part of his official duty, he was required to report at the Training Facility Centre at Hyderabad at 2.30 p.m on 10.06.2015 and also to attend a Departmental Examination on Service Tax there at 2.30 p., on 10.06.2015.  On 03.06.2015 the complainant booked to and fro flight tickets of the opposite party- Air India Ltd. for travel from Cochin to Hyderabad on 09.06.2015 which was scheduled to depart from Kochi at 6.50 p.m. and to return to Hyderabad on 11.06.2015.  The complainant used Air India Mobile Application (Android Version) provided by the opposite party – Airline Ltd. for booking tickets and the return flight ticket from Hyderabad to Cochin was scheduled to depart at 8.15 a.m on 11.06.2015 from Hyderabad.  The complainant booked the above tickets on 03.06.2015, while he was at Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam District.  He was issued with tickets bearing PNR No.Z7N89 and PNR No.Z7NJN for his onward and return journey costing Rs.9,122/- and Rs.9,043/- respectively.  The complainant, accordingly, reached the Cochin International Airport Ltd. (CIAL)  on 09.06.2015 at 4 p.m for boarding his flight from Cochin to Hyderabad and when he showed his ticket details having PNR No.Z7N89 in his mobile phone to the airport staff of the opposite party, to his utter shock and dismay, he was informed that the flight had already departed the Airport hours ago.  He was also informed by the staff and confirmed by one Ms.Rajani, Manager of the opposite party that the mobile application was faulty and showed errors and the complainant was required to contact the call centre of the opposite party for getting refund and compensation.  No alternate arrangements were made by the opposite party despite specific request of the complainant citing official urgency.  The complainant approached the call centre and requested for the cancellation of the said tickets so that he could save whatever was left after the aforesaid mishap.  On having found that there was no other flight from Cochin which was affordable, the complainant took a taxi urgently to proceed to Thiruvananthapuram costing him Rs.5000/- and from there he took a flight having No.A1968 belonging to AIR INDIA, to Chennai costing Rs.4,513/- and a further flight having No.SG615 of Spice JET from Chennai to Hyderabad costing him Rs. 6,537/- for reaching Hyderabad to report for his official duty  Thereby, he had to make a tiresome travel for more than 17 hours requiring change of flight, wait at Chennai Airport and more importantly a 250 kms travel by road. Further, on verification the complainant had understood that the timing shown by the mobile application, in regards to his return journey, from Hyderabad to Cochin on 11.06.2015 vide ticket having PNR No.27 NJN, was also wrong. In the mobile application the timing shown as 08.15 am, whereas the actual timing was 05.50 am.  This would further confirm that the mobile booking facility provided by the opposite party for booking flight tickets is faulty and defective thereby rendering the service provided by the opposite party deficient.  The complainant also felt harassed at the reckless and callous behavior on the part of the airport staff.  There was negligence on the part of the opposite party by providing a faulty mobile application facility to the public for booking air tickets without proper testing and checking and without confirming the correctness of the mobile application facility.  It is contended by the complainant that the opposite party is liable to pay compensation for the monetary loss, injury and mental agony suffered by the complainant.  It is submitted that the mental agony aggravated as the complainant was worried that he would not be able to perform properly in the departmental examination as he was tired and jet lagged without sufficient rest after a stressful and tiresome journey which lasted for more than 17 hours, comprising of a road trip of more than 250 kms and early morning flight and the humiliation and harassment he might face at his work place from his colleagues, batch-mates and seniors if he fails and also concerned of the cumbersome process of having to appear for the Departmental examination again, which would affect his salary and increments and which may even delay his promotion.  The failure of the opposite party to make alternate arrangements for his journey on 09.06.2015 to reach Hyderabad, on 09.06.2015 also amounted to deficiency in service on the part of the opposite party. The complainant vide his e-mail to the opposite party claimed an amount of Rs.2,25,172/- as compensation under various heads and rs.2,00,000/- for subjecting him to the aforesaid mental agony.  The claim of the complainant was rejected by the opposite party on 12.08.2015 in a callous and casual manner except for a refund of Rs.3,493/- after deducting ‘no-show’ charges and cancellation charges from the ticket fare for the flight from Cochin to Hyderabad.  The opposite party while considering the claim had not even considered the position and responsibilities held by the complainant as an officer of the Government of India.  The Air India mobile application’s official description page in Google play store provides the following functions of the app.

1. Book your flights on domestic sectors on flights operated by Air India.
2. Check your bookings on the phone.
3. View your current and historical bookings.
4. Cancel your booking in quick, easy steps
5. Check in within 48 hours of departure.

The case of the complainant is that the itinerary page provided at the time booking the ticket in the Air India Mobile Application, showed incorrect timing of the flight which had resulted in monetary loss to the complainant.  The official Air India mobile app ‘My bookings’ page with all the details of the ticket is more than sufficient to produce it before the CISF personnel at the 1^st gate of the aerodrome for security check and to produce before airline counter for getting the boarding pass, as is clearly evident from the declarations made on the ‘description page’ of the official Air India Mobile App. The opposite party – Airline company failed miserably in providing the correct timing of the flight in its own official Mobile App.  Adding further to his agonies the complainant has failed in the examination.  It is submitted that the delay in clearing the examination would further delay his increments and the opposite party is liable to compensate for the same by paying Rs.5,00,000/- in addition to the compensation for the mental agony suffered by the complainant.  The complainant sought for the directions of this Forum to the opposite parties to pay Rs5,629/- towards money expended by the complainant for booking ticket PNR No.Z 7 N89 after deducting the refund made by the opposite party, to pay Rs. 4,513/- towards money expended for booking ticket in AirIndia flight No.AI 968, to pay Rs.6,537/- towards money expended for booking ticket in Spicejet flight No.SG 615 to pay Rs.5000/- towards expenses for hiring taxi.  Thus the total claim including the compensation for the loss and injury caused to the complainant amounted to Rs.721,679/-.  The complainant also requested to direct the opposite party to provide fault free mobile application facility for the use of its customers. 

2)       Notice was issued to the opposite party and the opposite party filed their version in response to the notice.

3)       Version of the opposite party

          It is submitted by the opposite party – Air India Ltd. that the opposite party is not aware of the profile of the complainant, that as per the terms and conditions of the mobile booking application, the opposite party does not make any warranties or representations as to the accuracy of the information available in the application, that the opposite party does not assume any liability or responsibility for any typographical or other errors or omissions in the content, that on booking the ticket by the complainant on 03.06.2015 in the mobile application, a travel itinerary was sent to the e-mail it was clearly mentioned that the print out of the travel itinerary needs to be produced at the time of check-in and the complainant was also bound to check the travel itinerary at the time of booking the tickets and in the travel itinerary the correct details of the flight are provided.  The flight from Kochi to Bangalore in AI 9506 was scheduled to depart at 13.30 hrs and AI 516 from Bangalore to Hyderabad at 18.50 hrs the same was clearly mentioned in the travel itinerary.  As the complainant did not report for boarding he was treated as a ‘no show’.  Hence there is no question of refund being paid to the complainant for the ticket booked from Cochin to Hyderabad.  There is also no question of providing alternate arrangements as the complainant was a no-show for the ticket booked by him.  It is submitted that the complainant ought to have checked the travel itinerary issued to him via e-mail and there was absolutely no harassment from the staff of the opposite party.  The averment of the complainant that the mental agony allegedly caused to the complainant, stood aggravated as he was worried about not being able to perform properly in the examination, is without any basis and is made to gain sympathy of this Forum.  The averment that the issue of the complainant was dealt with in a callous and casual manner is not correct.  It is necessary to show the travel itinerary sent to the complainant via e-mail at the time of entering into the airport and also at the entrance into the airport and also at the check-in counter and the said itinerary showed the incorrect timing of the flight is completely false and hence denied.  The complainant is not entitled to get any of the reliefs prayed for in the complaint as there was no deficiency in service, negligence or unfair trade practice on the part of the opposite party and this complaint is filed by the complainant on an experimental basis solely with an intention to harass the opposite party.  The opposite party therefore sought for the dismissal of the complaint with compensatory costs to the opposite party.

4)       The following issues emanated for the consideration of this Forum

i)        Whether the complainant has proved deficiency in service or unfair trade practice on the part of the opposite party?

ii)       If so, whether the opposite party is liable to pay Rs.721629/- under different heads towards compensation for the mental agony, monetary loss etc suffered by the complainant along with costs of this proceedings?

5)       The evidence in this case consisted of the oral evidence adduced by the complainant as PW1 and the documentary evidences furnished by the complainant which were marked as Exbt. A1 to A6.  No oral evidence adduced by the opposite party.  The documentary evidence furnished by the opposite party were marked as Exbt.B1 and B2.

6)       Issue Nos. (i) and (ii)

        The complainant booked on 03.06.2015 the flight tickets of the airlines run by the opposite party- Air India Ltd for his onward journey from Cochin to Hyderabad on 09.06.2015 and for his return journey from Hyderabad to Cochin on 11.06.2015.The above flight tickets were booked by the complainant from his residence at Muvattupuzha, using Air India Mobile Application (Android version, a mobile application facility provided by the opposite party.  The flight from Cochin to Hyderabad was scheduled to depart on 09.06.2015 at 06.50 pm and the return flight from Hyderabad to Cochin was scheduled to depart on 11.06.2015 at 8.15 am and the above tickets were issued to the complainant having PNR No.Z7N89 and No.Z7NJN for his onward and return journey respectively at the ticket cost of Rs.9,122/- and Rs.9,043/- respectively.  The tickets were booked for the purpose  of attending a Department Examination on Service Tax at the Training Facility centre scheduled to the conducted on 10.06.2015 as evidenced by Exbt.A1 examination schedule.  Exbt.A2 and Exbt.A2 (a) are the print outs of ‘My booking’ page of Air India Mobile app both dated 03.06.2015.  The complainant missed flight from Cochin to Hyderabad on 09.06.2015 which was scheduled to depart at 6.50 p.m. as stated in the official mobile app provided to the complainant.  The time of departure of the return flight was also wrongly given in the official mobile app of the opposite party.  The opposite party did not give any valid explanation for giving wrong timings in the mobile No. app.  The opposite party simply filed the terms and conditions of mobile booking vide Exbt.B1 and the conditions of carriage vide Exbt.B2.  The opposite party contended that the travel itinerary correctly showed the timings and disowned the liability for the incorrect information given in their official mobile app, that too after collecting the to and fro flight charges on 03.06.2015.  We are not inclined to accept the contention raised by the opposite party that they have sent travel itinerary via e-mail in the absence of any evidence and there was no direction or indication to the complainant in the official mobile app to down load the travel itinerary and to search for the correct timing of the flight.  Therefore we find that the complainant has proved deficiency in service on the part of the opposite party by providing incorrect timing of the flight on 09.06.2015 and on 11.06.2015 in the official mobile app of the opposite party for which the complainant is entitled to get compensation for the loss of money, for the monetary loss for the mental agony suffered and for the tedious journey the complainant had to take on 09.06.2015 to reach Hyderabad consequent to the negligent and irresponsible act of the opposite party in providing the incorrect timing in their mobile App. The total amount of compensation claimed by the complainant is found on a higher side.  It is also seen that the opposite party had effected refund of Rs.3493/- after deducting ‘no show charges’.  But the above levy of ‘no show charges’ is found incorrect and illegal since the complainant reached the airport in time ie by 4 p.m in accordance with the timing shown in the official mobile app of the opposite party – Airline.  The Incorrect timing was actually provided by the opposite party in their mobile App. Therefore we find that the complainant is entitled to get entire ticket charges paid for the to and fro flight journey from the opposite party.  We direct the opposite party to refund an amount of Rs.5629/- after deducting the refund of Rs.3493 already made by the opposite party from the ticket charges of PNR No.Z7N89 of Rs.9122/- and refund the return ticket charge of Rs.9043/- in respect of the ticket No.Z7NJN.

 The complainant had to undergo tedious journey on 09.06.2015through road to Thiruvananthapuram, thereafter he had to catch the flight to Chennai and from there to Hyderabad as a result of faulty timing give in the mobile App thereby providing deficient service to the complainant.  In the above act of the opposite party inflicted severe mental agony to the complainant. In the facts and circumstances of the case, we find that the complainant is entitled to get an amount of Rs.100,000/- towards compensation for the mental agony suffered.

In the result, the complaint is partly allowed and we direct as follows:

1. The opposite party shall refund the to and from ticket charges paid on 03.06.2015 Rs.5630/- and Rs.9043/- to the complainant being the to and fro ticket charges from Cochin to Hyderabad and Hyderabad to Cochin.
2. The opposite party shall pay Rs.100,000/- towards compensation for the severe mental agony, monetary loss and inconvenience suffered by the complainant.
3. The opposite party shall also pay an amount of Rs.5,000/- to the complainant towards costs of this proceedings.   

The above orders shall be complied with, within 30 days from the date of receipt of a copy of this order, failing which the above amounts shall carry interest @ 12% p.a. from the 31^st day of receipt of this order.

Pronounced in the open Forum on this the 30^th day of June, 2017.

Sd/-Beena Kumari V.K. , Member

Sd/-Sheen Jose, Member (President-in-charge)

Forwarded by Order

Senior Superintendent

                                                          APPENDIX

Complainants Exhibits

Opposite party's Exhibits:         

Exbt. B1      ::        copy of the terms and conditions for mobile booking        

Exbt.B2       ::        copy of general conditions of carriage for passengers and    

                              baggage.

Depositions :

PW1            :         Abraham Renn

Date of Despatch   :

                   By Hand      :

                   Post             :

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