Last week my parents were supposed to fly from Delhi to Hyderabad. I just opened the home page of Jet Airways to find out whether these guys were offering any concession to Senior citizens. I could easily make out the heading which goes like ’’50% concession for senior citizens’’. But after going through the terms and conditions, I felt that these guys forgot putting a line in the bottom that should go like this, ’’We offer 50% concession to the senior citizens, now you fine people try out your guts to avail the same’’. A couple of conditions to avail the aforesaid concession are :
One will have to buy a return ticket (to and fro) meaning if a senior citizen wants to fly to Hyderabad and wanna stay in the city for a continued period with his/her children (like in my case), airways excludes him/her from the senior citizen category.
One will have to buy a confirmed ticket (no open ticket), 7 days in advance and in case of cancellation one will be slapped a 50% cancellation-fee on basic fare. Let me compare the concessional offer with another scheme offered by almost all airways for the last 10 odd months and the same is supposed to be there forever now, I think. From Delhi to Hyderabad, the normal air fare for an open ticket is 9090/- INR. After availing the senior citizen concession, the ticket costs about 5400/- INR. If we keep in mind the first condition, it will never cost 5400/- because one is forced to buy a return ticket, not one-way ticket. Now ! Almost all airways are offering scheme under which one has to purchase confirmed ticket, certain number of days in advance and the fares are quite attractive. For example, Indian Airlines is offering a ONE-WAY ticket to a person of any AGE-GROUP in exactly 5400/- INR, if one goes for a confirmed air ticket, 7 days in advance. They call it D-7 scheme. Nevertheless, under D-21 scheme, they charge some 4300/- bugs. So if we have a closer look at the above statistics, then don’t you feel that these airways are just making a fun in the name of senior citizen concession.
Now come to railways, it is offering a fair deal to the senior citizens. Railways offers a flat 30% discount on the normal fare. One is not bound to any other conditions, just a cool 30% discount to the ones who deserve a bit more attention, care and respect from rest of the society. Moreover, senior citizens are offered a 0.5% extra interest on their fixed deposits and most forms of saving, they go for (without imposing any other junk condition, just to put them in loop). Don’t you think, it should be like that only when it comes to airways also. This very provision of senior citizen concession is little gesture to pay a certain degree of reverence towards those who have rendered their life long services to the country, in various forms. And while paying such gestures, if somebody is again a taking practical approach, this it is a shame to one and all.
Feeling concerned about the above said.
Deepak Garg.
This is an add-on to my review and can be termed as :
Jetairways - A false show
This Saturday, my parents came down to Hyderabad from Delhi, by Jet airways. One week prior to their journey, I wrote a mail to Jet airways telling that my father was not feeling so well and could not lift his luggage (check-in as well as cabin) even for a couple of meters of distance. Therefore I asked about the help that could be offered to him from getting the boarding pass to make his luggage reach me, outside Hyderabad airport. After a couple of days, I received a reply telling that the ground staff will help if my parents at Delhi, and myself at Hyderabad would contact the same. I forwarded the same mail to my father and advised him to contact the ground staff out there at Delhi airport.
He contacted the Jet airways ground staff at Delhi airport and I must appreciate the helping hand, they extended to him out there in Delhi.
Now at Hyderabad airport, I approached Jet airways counter before entering the section of the airport meant for arrivals. Those guys told me that I should contact their people inside and they would help. In fact, there is no ground staff available related to Jet airways or any specific airways at the arrivals. So I went inside and couldn’t find anybody for the desired help.
I contacted one CISF guy and convinced him somehow so that I could go upto the luggage claim area. As soon as the plane landed, I saw my parents, carrying a cabin luggage of about 8 to 10 kilograms each, with a great difficulty. I rushed towards them and helped them out.
I asked my parents that why didn’t they tell the cabin crew to help. My parents told that they had done the same but the crewmembers didn’t pay even a little heed while saying that they couldn’t help in that. I mean I was not only surprised but shocked to come to know that one can come across such sub-standardized level of hospitality after paying for the most expensive mode of transportation. One thing these guys would also agree to, that a person who is neither having any emergency to reach somewhere, nor he/she is sponsored by somebody; if such person is paying such a high amount in form of fare for his/her own pocket, what could be the reason behind that and what level of comfort and courtesy he/she would expect.
The above episode also clarifies that these guys are not interested in long-term relationships with the customer. My parents were entertained at Delhi airport but as soon as they were about to leave your aircraft at Hyderabad, crew-members just turned their back towards them. I am quite disappointed with the services that were offered by Jet airways, and that also when my parents boarded a plane for the first time in their life. It is for sure that I won’t opt for Jet airways in near and far future and also I won’t recommend anybody for the same, but for this time also I have asked these guys that I would like to get a feedback in form of a satisfactory answer from concerned authority. I would appreciate if the cabin crew of that flight is questioned and given some more instructions so that apart from saying ’’Ba-bye’’ (which is practically of no use to elderly people who are carrying their luggage with difficulty), they can pay some heed to so-called extra-ordinary or exceptional requests.
feeling disappointed
Deepak Garg.