SJC2ISP - as a frequent traveller to/from India and a part time resident of india i would like to comment and hopefully help out.

1) the type of "non-confirmation" you have mentioned happens often and is almost always b/c the agent hasnt really confirmed the seat correctly. in the event they have the airline can (and regulary do in India) offload pax without reason. of course they should rebook the pax but they normally wont unless youmfight for it. so in short if you are confident in your agent tell him to rebook them and then pursue OS until they refund any excess fare that you may have to pay out of pocket.

2) there really is a shortage of seats outbound to europe and has been the case for the past 8 weeks. (two weeks ago i couldnt get a seat on BA from india to LHR in any class until 4 may) however if you have patience and flexibility u can find a seat or two at the last mnute - but this doesnt seem viable for your parents so you will probably have to find another way.

3. if they absolutley want to go via the atlantic i suggest you try the following options:

TG DEL - BKK
TG BKK - LHR
UA LHR - JFK

OR

SQ DEL - SIN
SQ SIN - FRA
SQ FRA - JFK

another choice which would entail them getting to the gulf could be EK (emirates) to DXB and then on to europe or GF to BAH or AUH and then on to europe. both option will normally have seats avialable if you're flexible by a day or so.

as a last choice they could get to mumbai and then fly CX to DXB and then on to europe. the CX flight will almost always have some seats available.

if they want to go via the pacific there are many choices out of mumbai or delhi to HKG, BKK, or SIN on TG, QF, SQ, and CX.

Under no circumstances should they fly AI (air india) b/c if you thin kthe austrian episode is a horror u dont wan tto even think of the AI horrors - i.e. at least OS offered your money back.

4) your legal options in India are zero. unless you're prepared for an expensive and long ( 1 year +) fight which you will probably still not win. best bet is to take it up with austrian in the country where you live.

any way you decide to go good luck and let us know what happens. i have sympathy for your parents as ive seen people in this mess before.

in the end if you cant find anything let me know and i can ask our agent to look into it (but they're in mumbai so i dont know how much help they can be in delhi) or if you choose to pursue it legally i can recommend a good attorney