PhD Scholar Stranded without Luggage on Bengaluru Flight, Luggage Missing for 36 Hours
PhD Scholar Stranded without Luggage on Bengaluru Flight, Luggage Missing for 36 Hours
Indian PhD scholar’s distress grows as Air India fails to deliver suitcase, impacting her attendance at a wedding.
Air India faced criticism after forgetting to load Pooja Kathail’s luggage on her direct flight from San Francisco to Bengaluru. The Computational Biology PhD student at UC Berkeley took to social media to express her frustration, stating, “W*F Air India… Took a direct flight SFO->BLR yesterday and Air India never loaded my suitcase on the plane. It’s been 36 hrs, and still no delivery estimate. And it took 40 tries to get them to even pick up the phone. Going to a wedding tomorrow and don’t have any clothes.”
WTF @airindia. Took a direct flight sfo->blr yesterday and @airindia never loaded my suitcase on the plane. it’s been 36 hrs, and still no delivery estimate. And it took ~40 tries to get them to even pick up the phone. Going to a wedding tmrw and don’t have any clothes..
— Pooja Kathail (@poojakathail) July 8, 2024
Her complaint gained traction online, prompting a response from Air India apologizing for the inconvenience and requesting her flight details and baggage tag for investigation. Despite their assurance, Kathail later updated that she had not received any communication regarding her missing luggage.
Since being posted a day ago, the share has been viewed over 14,000 times. In addition, the share has received over 100 likes. People posted varied comments while sharing their reactions to the post.
Dear Ms. Kathail, we have already forwarded the details with our baggage team. Please allow us some time to get back to you.
— Air India (@airindia) July 8, 2024
What did X users say about this post on Air India?
“This seems to be an everyday thing now. Family members flew SFO – BLR last week same story. Bags came after days after many continuous follow up. People book AI due to direct flight, but now it’s becoming a nuisance that is not worth the advantage of direct flight,” shared an X user.
Another added, “Going in Air India is a waste of time and money. Customer service is poor, the planes are quite old. Better to avoid for the next 3 to 4 years until the Tatas clean up the mess
“Similar experience flying out from Chicago to Delhi. Bags came but very late so I couldn’t catch the connecting flight. They rescheduled to the next day after running around from one incompetent AI employee to another. Air India is at least 20 years behind”
“OMG! Air India is facing a lot of flak these days… Missing luggage on a direct flight is heights.
“I filter out Air India from flight search options whenever I choose to fly domestic or international, direct or connecting. I know some people have limited options due to budget and convenience but I would not trade it for my peace of mind.”
Air India reiterated their commitment to resolving the issue, promising to review the matter with their baggage team and provide an update soon.
