Three-time Grammy Award winner Ricky Kej once again lashed out at Air India after allegedly waiting nearly an hour to pay for his excess baggage at the airport.
The Indian-American composer took to his official X account and shared the details of the two incidents with the Indian national carrier, marking this the fifth such instance in a year.
But before starting his rant, Kej had a confession to make.
The post read, “I am certain a few people will troll me, asking me why do I keep doing this to myself.. travel through such a terrible airline, but I will continuesly give them chances and criticize them for errors, till they improve.”
First Incident
After cooling off, he decided to narrate the first incident that took place on September 14 from New Delhi to Bengaluru. “I reached the Air India check-in line at the Delhi Airport. Was flying business class. As always the lady at the counter was distracted, had to get her attention. I had not slept for 2 days and was travelling directly after performing a concert at the ITC Maurya. My bag was overweight by 6 kgs, I immediately offered to pay, as I always do. They told me I needed to go to a counter which was quite a walk away just to pay. I requested them to bring the wireless payment machine to the check-in counter like all the other airlines do (I routinely pay for excess baggage due to the nature of my profession),” the 43-year-old said.
“They refused (Devika, Ravi Kumar, Mukeeta and Neha). So I walked to the counter they directed me to. The person at that counter (Sunil) refused to even look in my direction and rudely said he was busy – either I could wait there for a while or he directed me to their ticketing counter which is at the other end of the terminal. I refused both options and went back to the check-in counter,” he alleged.
After Kej reached the check-in counter and informed them what had happened with him, Sunil was called, and he was told to accept Kej’s payment. Kej then made his way back to Sunil (for a second time).
(Read the entire thread) So, I thought a lot about this, waited to cool off, and decided to post calmly. Two incidents that happened recently with @AirIndia. I am certain a few people will troll me, asking me why do I keep doing this to myself.. travel through such a terrible… pic.twitter.com/juvxPJm1pQ
— Ricky Kej (@rickykej) September 29, 2024
“I offered to pay by UPI. I did not have any credit cards or cash. He flatly refused UPI (Shocking for an Indian brand). He said UPI is usless and Air India does not accept it. I protested.. told him that i have UPI attatched with multiple banks and can ensure the payment goes through, he refused to talk to me further, wrote Kej.
For the third time, Kej walked back to the check-in counter. There, he was told that there was nothing they could do and offered to cancel his ticket instead!! They refused to give any details on a refund and gave back his suitcase.
“Then I argued with them – told them I am sleep deprived, I need to be on the flight, and they are treating me like shit. Finally after 50 min of this ordeal, and almost missing my flight, on my insistsnce, Devika called Sunil.. he finally agreed to come to the checkin counter (where i was) with the wireless machine, and accepted the UPI payment which went through effortlessly in a few seconds. I left for security check and boarded the flight.”
The musician felt this is a “systemic issue” with Air India where they “just do not care” about their loyal customers.
“I have named all the offensive staff, and would really like to know how Air India deals with this issue I had. I should have never gone through that 50-minute ordeal when they could have settled the payment within seconds. This is a clear case of the airline bullying a customer,” he said.
Second Incident
The second incident occurred on September 20 on a Mumbai to San Francisco flight. Kej observed that one of the attendants continuously turned off a blue light (call for service) turned on by passengers.
(Second X-Tweet in thread)
Incident 2:
Flight from Mumbai to SanFrancisco
20th Sept 2024
AI0179I was flying economy @airindia, a direct flight from Mumbai to San francisco. Almost a 17 hour flight. I like to take walks on the plane every 3 hours. During 1 of my walks I was… pic.twitter.com/uMbSrcCVAz
— Ricky Kej (@rickykej) September 29, 2024
“I was flying economy, a direct flight from Mumbai to San Francisco. Almost a 17-hour flight. I like to take walks on the plane every 3 hours. During one of my walks, I was standing at the back of the plane. In deep animated conversation were 2 female flight attendants and another woman in a pajama and t-shirt (I assume she was a flight attendant on a break, she was accessing the stowed away containers and shelves.. even helping passengers who walked to her.. giving them water, etc),” he wrote on X.
“A blue light was switched on by one of the passengers. One of the flight attendants saw the indicator, and very nonchalantly (while being seated on a makeshift chair made from trays) reached up to the touchscreen and turned off the blue light while not skipping a beat in the conversation. I was appalled but did not say anything,” he added.
The flight attendant repeated this behaviour twice, and when the same passenger switched the blue light on again for the third time, Kej could not control himself.
“This time I did not hold back. I told the flight attendant what she already knew, that the same passenger had called her for a third time.. so maybe she could take a break from her conversation. She made a huge face, an under-the-breath remark, and went to check on the passenger. I could not get the name of the flight attendant, because she was the only one not wearing a badge,” he added.
This shows Air India’s complete “apathy” toward customers, and it is a “systemic issue” that may take years to address, he said.
“I will continue to fly Air India, though, and I am certain you will see more such stories. Hopefully lesser in frequency. My best wishes to Air India. I really, from the heart, hope they succeed. We all really need them to,” he added.
But Kej is “not giving up” on Air India or calling for any “boycott”.
(Third X-Tweet in thread)
As mentioned, I am not giving up on @airindia or calling for any boycott. I ma going to continue flying the airline unless it turns out there are major safety issues. I will be a loyal customer and fly them, and criticize them when needed. Even as I…
— Ricky Kej (@rickykej) September 29, 2024
“I am going to continue flying the airline unless it turns out there are major safety issues. I will be a loyal customer and fly them, and criticize them when needed. Even as I type this tweet, I am at the Bagdogra Airport waiting to board an Air India flight to New Delhi,” he said in another post.
Air India’s Response
After a series of posts by Kej, the airline regretted the inconvenience caused to Kej.
Dear Sir, we sincerely regret the inconvenience experienced during your travel. We are thoroughly investigating the issue and will take appropriate action. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
— Air India (@airindia) September 29, 2024
Air India’s post read, “We sincerely regret the inconvenience experienced during your travel. We are thoroughly investigating the issue and will take appropriate action. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.”
