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Dealing with AI miles redemptions
I was trying to use miles to book a flight for my parents MAA-BOM in December. Since the online link did not work, I emailed AI and got a call from the reservation desk who helped me make the booking last week Friday. My parents (both senior citizens) went into the Chennai city AI office on Monday to confirm the booking and did have the required documents with them. The experience they had was just baffling. It is alarming to see the lack of respect and consideration that some of these people confer upon senior citizens. My parents hung around for almost 2 hours, were made to fill forms, make some payment and all, only to be told that the reservation expired at 4:30 pm (though they were there from 2:30). AI made an alternate booking and needed additional cash to confirm it. Since my parents did not have the cash, they stepped out to get it. By the time they got back, the officers closed the building and left them standing out (this was about 5:15 pm).
Initially, I was just aghast and did not want to deal with AI ever again. But now, I am determined not to let this go. I have another reservation made and I have emailed the chennai office and called them (though nobody picks up the phone). Next step - will see them in person and resolve this. Any words of advice as I do this? |
go at 930 am for your work. prepare to spend 3/4 of your day there. fill up any form they ask you to as if your life depended on it. carry twice the amount you need in cash and a card for good measure. you never know when their machines stop working. carry photocopies of any document you may need to give them. dont expect them to make them for you. and carry a pen. if all works out okay, you should be done by lunch.
i take more time to prepare for a trip to an air india booking office than i need to for an overseas trip. and i am staff!! all the best. |
You should consider AI's offices just another Government office, and plan accordingly. Some, like the HYD one I use, are very good. Some are also absolutely horrible.
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Originally Posted by luvtotravel007
(Post 19562342)
I was trying to use miles to book a flight for my parents MAA-BOM in December. Since the online link did not work, I emailed AI and got a call from the reservation desk who helped me make the booking last week Friday. My parents (both senior citizens) went into the Chennai city AI office on Monday to confirm the booking and did have the required documents with them. The experience they had was just baffling. It is alarming to see the lack of respect and consideration that some of these people confer upon senior citizens. My parents hung around for almost 2 hours, were made to fill forms, make some payment and all, only to be told that the reservation expired at 4:30 pm (though they were there from 2:30). AI made an alternate booking and needed additional cash to confirm it. Since my parents did not have the cash, they stepped out to get it. By the time they got back, the officers closed the building and left them standing out (this was about 5:15 pm).
Initially, I was just aghast and did not want to deal with AI ever again. But now, I am determined not to let this go. I have another reservation made and I have emailed the chennai office and called them (though nobody picks up the phone). Next step - will see them in person and resolve this. Any words of advice as I do this? This disease is not unique to Air India. Last year, KLM desk did not answer phones for a a few hours, until after their Christmas party. You or your parents could have done things differently to avoid the hassle. Could you have completed the transaction on the phone? When you made the booking on Friday, did the airline rep tell you how long you had before the reservation would expire? I tell my children also not to wait until later in the day, closer to the deadline. Since you said your parents hung around for a couple of hours, was it due to a rush of people? It's an unwritten rule that one should allow for more time on the first and the last day of week/month. It's always best to be prepared and take an alternate mode of payment and excess cash if you are going to make payment in cash. When did they make contact with an AI person? Before or after 4:30 p.m. AI person helped them make another reservation but they did not have enough money. They stepped out to get their money. How long did it take them? Did they talk to anyone before leaving AI office how much time they had? I can see several instances whee you could have done things different. But it's always someone else's fault. Arrive at AI office closer to the end of the day, without sufficient funds and then leave the office without confirming their closing time was not very smart. One person could have stayed in while the other got the money. It's best to not assume that everything, that depends on others will work like clock work according to your expectations, while you yourself don't act promptly nor prepare for unexpected glitches like insufficient funds. |
Originally Posted by Yaatri
(Post 19565778)
Could you have completed the transaction on the phone?
Originally Posted by Yaatri
(Post 19565778)
When you made the booking on Friday, did the airline rep tell you how long you had before the reservation would expire?
Originally Posted by Yaatri
(Post 19565778)
Arrive at AI office closer to the end of the day, without sufficient funds and then leave the office without confirming their closing time was not very smart.
last year i had to go to the ai office to book an international redemption ticket for my wife & mother....i go there at 11am & am made to fill out some forms & then wait....at 12:30pm they break for lunch & i am told to come back at 2pm.... i get back at 2pm & have to wait another 30 minutes before the staff gets back....then they process the forms but their card machine is not working....first they try to blame it on me saying that my card doesn't work....then i gave them all my cards one by one to try & even got them to talk to my bank to verify that there was nothing wrong with my cards.... they finally give up about an hour later & tell me to get cash....since i am not carrying inr 50k with me, i go out looking for an atm & it takes me about 30 minutes before i get back....by this time its a little after 4pm & the agent i was dealing with is no longer at her desk....i have to wait another 15-20 minutes before she comes back....then she tells me it getting late & i should come back the following day....at this point i lose my cool & ask for a manager....i am told they left for the day....i make a big scene, take down all their names & start throwing around some big names of people i am going to complain to & all of a sudden a manager appears & makes sure my ticket is issued right away.... i have heard countless stories of people being treated this way by ai....there have been other instances when i have reached the ai office at 4:30pm (half an hour before they close) only to find out that most of the people have left for the day....i agree with you that they are not the only ones who do this but ai is among the worst in this regard.... |
My experience at the AI office (the ones in Delhi near Safdarjung Airport and Jor Bagh IIRC) has been exactly the same as Keyser.
Totally sympathies with the OP. The AI office operation is a shambles to say the least. |
Originally Posted by Keyser
(Post 19568350)
they stopped this a while back....now you have to go to the office to complete a redemption booking....
i have been told by ai before that my booking would expire on a certain date, only to find out that it expired well before that....sometimes as early as a couple of hours after it was made.... yaatri, i completely sympathize with the op here since i have dealt with stuff like this a number of times.... last year i had to go to the ai office to book an international redemption ticket for my wife & mother....i go there at 11am & am made to fill out some forms & then wait....at 12:30pm they break for lunch & i am told to come back at 2pm.... i get back at 2pm & have to wait another 30 minutes before the staff gets back....then they process the forms but their card machine is not working....first they try to blame it on me saying that my card doesn't work....then i gave them all my cards one by one to try & even got them to talk to my bank to verify that there was nothing wrong with my cards.... they finally give up about an hour later & tell me to get cash....since i am not carrying inr 50k with me, i go out looking for an atm & it takes me about 30 minutes before i get back....by this time its a little after 4pm & the agent i was dealing with is no longer at her desk....i have to wait another 15-20 minutes before she comes back....then she tells me it getting late & i should come back the following day....at this point i lose my cool & ask for a manager....i am told they left for the day....i make a big scene, take down all their names & start throwing around some big names of people i am going to complain to & all of a sudden a manager appears & makes sure my ticket is issued right away.... i have heard countless stories of people being treated this way by ai....there have been other instances when i have reached the ai office at 4:30pm (half an hour before they close) only to find out that most of the people have left for the day....i agree with you that they are not the only ones who do this but ai is among the worst in this regard....
Originally Posted by AJLondon
(Post 19571000)
My experience at the AI office (the ones in Delhi near Safdarjung Airport and Jor Bagh IIRC) has been exactly the same as Keyser.
Totally sympathies with the OP. The AI office operation is a shambles to say the least. If the reservation expired before the expiry time given by AI, it's AI's fault. But the OP has not said so. The OP did not do some of the things they should have in order avoid suffering this fate. Sympathising with the OP doesn't do much. You can't change India. What you can do is take steps to overcome common practices in Indian offices. In OP's case, they had planned to make the payment in cash. More ash was needed because a fresh itinerary had to be created. Arrive in plenty of time before the expiry of your reservation. Know when your reservation expires. These are common sense precautions that one must take. I can assure you that taking precautionary measures, such as those I suggest, will do more for the OP than empathy. |
Originally Posted by Yaatri
(Post 19571656)
Arrive in plenty of time before the expiry of your reservation. Know when your reservation expires. These are common sense precautions that one must take. I can assure you that taking precautionary measures, such as those I suggest, will do more for the OP than empathy.
yes, the op's parents should have carried a little extra cash but its not unreasonable to get to an office 2 & a half hours before they close, specially for a simple procedure that should not take more than 10 minutes to complete.... |
Originally Posted by Keyser
(Post 19573483)
i agree....but it doesn't help when reservations expire before they are supposed to or if you are made to wait hours till it is time to close or if their card machine is not working....the ai reservation centers are a mess....i have been to ai offices in delhi, mumbai, dubai & a bunch of other places & they have all been the same....
yes, the op's parents should have carried a little extra cash but its not unreasonable to get to an office 2 & a half hours before they close, specially for a simple procedure that should not take more than 10 minutes to complete.... I can't say I disagree with your description of the state of affairs. That's just India. The same thing can happen in a bang, even in a private bank and sometimes in the U.S. too. The difference is that in the U.S. people are willing tot ake steps to correct their mistake. In India, they don't care. |
Thanks everyone for your comments. Things are going better this time
- Made another booking today which is valid till Nov 11th (unlike last time where it was valid for exactly 24 hours). - The person in the call center was lot more friendly this time and gave me the exact charges to be paid (which is about rs.570 for taxes per ticket). - Called the Air India chennai office and they actually answered this time! Verified their timings - 9:30 am to 5 pm monday to saturday. 1-2 pm lunch Parents are planning to go in early tomorrow to complete this. Home stretch I hope! |
Website redemption was not working so called up AI office on Wed to redeem miles for tickets for parents both senior citizens. Booking was for 17th weekend.
Cost me 38k miles for a return tickets PNQ-DEL for 2 senior citizens and 2400 in taxes. They wouldnt take CC payment on Phone IVR like with private airlines, but ticket was blocked till 12th noon. Parents (82 and 85 respectively) went down to AI office in Pune thursday afternoon after their morning temple/mandai round. generally ok experience from what i heard. They had the PNR nos with them and made a payment at the cash counter. Only one staff is an old acquaintance, all others are ex-KF clueless children (as per my mother). No form filling, but they asked for ID, checked the PAN nos and issued the tickets. Card payment was not accepted since machine was not working. For some reason, 2 PNR's were generated, separate for each passenger, even though they are travelling together. Couldnt figure out why? Because they are senior citizens? Also the call center is now definitely not indigo run: call center answered by somewhat rudeish middle aged lady. But got the work done. AI people: if you are reading this: please bring back online redemption. PLEASE! |
Originally Posted by ashishp
(Post 19651367)
Website redemption was not working so called up AI office on Wed to redeem miles for tickets for parents both senior citizens. Booking was for 17th weekend.
Cost me 38k miles for a return tickets PNQ-DEL for 2 senior citizens and 2400 in taxes. They wouldnt take CC payment on Phone IVR like with private airlines, but ticket was blocked till 12th noon. |
Happy to report that the tickets were issued today. My parents were made to fill out few forms, but otherwise it was a quick process. Phew.
I noticed the general commentary in the thread that "all this happens in India". I work with Indian clients every day and yes, I probably should not have had high expectations from an Air India office. People would argue that it should not be compared to other private airlines or US airlines/systems. I agree to that, but my only harrowing aspect of this whole thing was with regard to senior citizens. We claim to be a country with strong values and sense of family, but we don't seem to give due respect to people. I will stop here before going on a rant :) Thanks everyone for your words of encouragement and support. |
Originally Posted by ashishp
(Post 19651367)
Website redemption was not working so called up AI office on Wed to redeem miles for tickets for parents both senior citizens. Booking was for 17th weekend.
Cost me 38k miles for a return tickets PNQ-DEL for 2 senior citizens and 2400 in taxes. They wouldnt take CC payment on Phone IVR like with private airlines, but ticket was blocked till 12th noon. Parents (82 and 85 respectively) went down to AI office in Pune thursday afternoon after their morning temple/mandai round. generally ok experience from what i heard. They had the PNR nos with them and made a payment at the cash counter. Only one staff is an old acquaintance, all others are ex-KF clueless children (as per my mother). No form filling, but they asked for ID, checked the PAN nos and issued the tickets. Card payment was not accepted since machine was not working. For some reason, 2 PNR's were generated, separate for each passenger, even though they are travelling together. Couldnt figure out why? Because they are senior citizens? Also the call center is now definitely not indigo run: call center answered by somewhat rudeish middle aged lady. But got the work done. AI people: if you are reading this: please bring back online redemption. PLEASE! |
Originally Posted by luvtotravel007
(Post 19652432)
Happy to report that the tickets were issued today. My parents were made to fill out few forms, but otherwise it was a quick process. Phew.
I noticed the general commentary in the thread that "all this happens in India". I work with Indian clients every day and yes, I probably should not have had high expectations from an Air India office. People would argue that it should not be compared to other private airlines or US airlines/systems. I agree to that, but my only harrowing aspect of this whole thing was with regard to senior citizens. We claim to be a country with strong values and sense of family, but we don't seem to give due respect to people. I will stop here before going on a rant :) Thanks everyone for your words of encouragement and support. In am glad that it all worked out for you in the end. In general I don't count on people, anywhere, to do their job properly and completely. This is more true for some places than others. Unfortunately, India is in the former category. Often this incompetence slides through without impacting whatever you are trying to do. The moment you walk into a govt office in the U.S. such as the DMV Or a City Hall, you smell Indian bureaucracy. The license plate on my motorcycle well off as the nuts securing it to the bike became loose due to vibration. In order to get a new license plate, I had to file a "lost report". I was asked to provide, the date of loss, the time of loss and the "exact" place of loss, down to the intersection where the loss occurred. :D I should have just stopped and picked it up when the loss occurred. |
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