{"id":60778,"date":"2024-04-04T23:49:23","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T18:19:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?p=60778"},"modified":"2025-06-30T02:22:05","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T20:52:05","slug":"air-india-downgrades-passenger-on-delhi-washington-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/04\/air-india-downgrades-passenger-on-delhi-washington-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"Air India Downgrades Business-Class Passenger on Delhi to Washington Flight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

DELHI-<\/strong> Recently, a woman’s mother, holding a business class ticket, was unexpectedly accommodated in economy class during an international flight operated by Air India (AI).<\/a> This incident came to light through her social media post on March 27, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her post on X, she expressed her dismay directly to @airindia, questioning how her mother’s business class seat was given to someone else on a long-haul flight from Delhi (DEL) to Washington DC (IAD)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Air
Photo: Air India<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Air India Business-Class Passenger Incident<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Initially informed that the seat didn’t recline and later informed it was designated for the crew, her mother eventually discovered someone else occupying it as she was directed to the economy section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The boarding pass clearly indicated a business class seat for her mother. Furthermore, she highlighted that her mother, who has health issues and paid a premium fare for comfort, was warned by the Delhi ground staff that her luggage would be offloaded if she didn’t comply and accept the economy seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saumya Brajmohan, Partner at Solomon & Co., a century-old law firm, noted to ET <\/em>that due to the swift growth of air travel within India, particularly on international routes to and from India, coupled with a continuous rise in passenger numbers, there has been a recurring occurrence of airlines downgrading passengers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Downgrading passengers involves transferring a passenger to a lower class during check-in for various reasons,” she explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Air
Photo: Vimanspotter\/Utkarsh Thakkar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What to do if this Happens?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you find yourself in this situation at the airport, according to Brajmohan, the airline can only decide to downgrade a passenger’s travel class, typically due to inoperative seats, aircraft changes, overbooking, and similar factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brajmohan also highlights that if a passenger experiences downgrading, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) <\/a>has introduced an amendment, effective from February 15, 2023, within Section 3 of the Air Transport, Series M, Part IV of its regulations titled ‘Facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, flight cancellations, and flight delays.’ <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This amendment entails reimbursement for passengers involuntarily downgraded in the following manner:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the domestic sector:<\/p>\n\n\n\n