'Is this not cheating passengers,' Shivraj Chouhan asks AI after getting a broken seat on Bhopal-Delhi flight

NEW DELHI: The list of passengers peeved at Air India’s yet to be fixed cabin product got its most high profile entrant on Saturday when Union agriculture minister and former Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan was allotted a broken seat on a Bhopal-Delhi flight Saturday. When the minister inquired how a broken seat can be given to fare-paying passengers, he was told the crew had asked the management not to sell the same but still it was sold.
“Today, (Feb 22) I had to come from Bhopal to Delhi... I had booked a ticket on Air India flight number AI 436. I was allotted seat number 8C. I went and sat on the seat, the seat was broken and sunken in. Sitting was uncomfortable,” the minister said on X.
Ironically the aircraft Chouhan flew Saturday was just a year old Airbus A321 (VT-RTB). A broken seat on a new aircraft raises questions about the airline’s maintenance. Union aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said: “We spoke to Air India on this issue and instructed them to take necessary action. From our side, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will also be looking into details of matter promptly. And I have personally spoken to Shivraj ji also.”
The DGCA has sought a report from AI on the issue. Incidentally, the regulator had in June 2022 specifically asked AI not to sell unserviceable seats following complaints from business class passengers of being downgraded to economy for this reason.
Chouhan said on X: “When I asked the airline staff why a damaged seat was allotted, they said that the management had already been informed that this seat was not okay, its ticket should not be sold. Not just one, there are more such seats. Co-passengers insisted a lot that I exchange seats with them and sit on a good seat, but why should I trouble any other friend for myself? I decided that I will complete my journey sitting on this seat itself.”
He added: “I had the belief that after coming under Tata management, Air India’s service must have improved, but this turned out to be my illusion. I do not worry about the discomfort of sitting, but after charging passengers the full amount, seating them on a bad and uncomfortable seat is unethical. Is this not cheating the passengers? Will Air India management take steps so that in the future no passenger faces such discomfort, or will it keep taking advantage of passengers’ urgency to reach their destination?”
An AI spokesperson said: "Air India deeply regrets the inconvenience caused to Union minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan ji on his flight from Bhopal to Delhi. This does not reflect the standard of service we strive to provide to our guests, and we are conducting a thorough investigation into the matter to ensure that such incidents are not repeated."
Supply chain constraints have meant that repairing AI's old planes has taken longer than anticipated. While the airline says its entire narrow body fleet (the one taken by minister Chouhan on Saturday) may get revamped this year, improving the cabin product of the old wide body fleet — Boeing 777s & 787s — will take about two more years.