[Resolved]  Indigo Airlines — unethical marketing practices

Address: Dehradun, Uttarakhand, 249202

Website: Indigo Airlines flight booking

Dear Sir

I am 67 years old NRI female residing in Rishikesh. ​
On 3rd January evening i received the following email from Marketing GoIndigo In.

Now fly flexi-ble
With our super affordable flexi fares you can make unlimited changes.
Book now

Dear Passenger,
When it comes to convenience, we make sure you have it your way! With our super affordable flexi fares, make unlimited changes to your booking up to 2* hours before departure and have a hassle-free flight.
Fly Flexi with 6E!
Book now

I had booked to travel ​from Haridwar ​to Bangalore by train, the return journey was pending as i was tossing up between returning by train (which i did not relish due to the long journey) or flying back arriving Rishikesh the same day​ instead of 3 days later if travelled by train​. When i received ​Indigo Marketing​ email, the Flexi-ble price and the fact that i could change dates without incurring charges seemed very attractive. I immediately went online and booked a return ticket for 21​st ​Feb a direct flight from Bengaluru to Dehradun on 6E 911 departing at 13.05 hrs and arriving at 16.00​ hrs​. ​The base fare was rupees 4, 088 with Passenger Convenience fee rupees 200, the total fare came to rupees 4, 288/- ​So far so good. Went through all the procedures of giving my debit card details to pay for the e-ticket. After completing my booking i expected an immediate ​confirmation of my booking​As usual I also expect​ed an email booking confirmation and ​an ​e-ticket. Waited for few minutes nothing came through.

​At 7 pm ​I​ rang Indigo Customer care no. [protected], [protected]​. First spoke to a lady by the name of Adhira. She was very helpful and after checking called me back on a no. 91+ [protected] which showed up as Dinesh Indigo Aluminium Tube. She told me that my booking is not showing up and asked me to check with my bank if the payment has been released, if it has not then this transaction has not been completed and that I should re-book as the low prices will not be available if I waited longer. Meantime she gave me an temporary PNR no. which I am to quote when calling again.

​At 7.29 pm ​I phoned again and this time ​I​ got a Mr. Suvendu Naik who confirmed that ​they have no record of ​my booking and no payment received. ​​

At 7.31 pm ​I received the below mentioned email from Indigo Marketing stating:

Dear Bibi,
We noticed that you didn't complete your booking. Here are the details from your recent search. Go ahead, complete your booking early and get the best price.
Flight No. 6E 911
Bengaluru - Dehradun
21st February
Remember, prices might change and flights might get filled out fast. So, book now and take off with us. Your trip starts as soon as you check out that cart.
Complete your booking now

At 7.45pm i made a second attempt to book and went through the same process. Once again i faced the same problem. Booking completed but no confirmation of PNR or Booking Ref or email e-ticket.

However from the time of my first attempt at about 6.30 pm and my second attempt at 7.45 pm and the time spent talking to the Call Centre staff the orginal flexi-ble fare had increased to rupees 6, 000 plus. When I re-booked the second time I inadvertently booked myself on the Saver fare for rupees 4, 417. The flight 6E-246 was via Delhi with a stoppage of 40 mins.

After my second failed attempt I looked at the Caller identity and ​ ​got worried about the identity of the caller. ​I asked myself "​​Why would a reputable airline have a Caller Identity "Dinesh Indigo Aluminium​ ​Tube". Was this some sort of elaborate scam​​. Had i been scammed? Such were my thoughts at 7.45 pm on Wednesday 3 January.

I phoned again and this time i got Mr Sujan at 7.56 pm. Again i explained my situation. By this time i am besides myself with rage. I felt that Indigo Airline was engaged in unethical marketing practices. Enticing public with attractive schemes but had no intention of allowing the transaction to be completed and thus delaying the booking process as i have described above. In the period of 2 hours the flexi-ble fare had increased from rupees 4, 088 to 6, 000 plus. I did vent my anger at Mr Sujan who was polite and helpful at all the time. I also requested that he record my dissatisfaction with Indigo Airlines' unethical practices and that this be sent to whosoever the person concerned.

​After a what must have seemed like an hour Sujan ji to pacify me offered to hold my 2nd booking for 24 hours till 20.45 hrs 4th January. Despite my request that he hold my first flexi-ble fare booking he said he could not as the price had increased. He reiterated that my second booking was a Saver Regular Fare at rupees 4, 417 on flight 6E246, flight leaving at 13.05 via Delhi with 40 mins stoppage and arriving Dehradun at 17.25. He advised that if i should find a flight cheaper than this i should go ahead and book it. The flight he is holding for me will automatically cancel itself at the end of the 24 hours expiry time. The call was disconnected 9 pm as he could not fulfill my request nor did he want to prolong the conversation.

I felt cheated by Indigo Airline and their covert marketing practices enticing the public and then forcing them to pay a higher fare to fly with them.

For the third time this evening of 3 Jan i went online to check if there were any flight cheaper than the one being held for me. I found a flight leaving two days earlier than my intended departure date at slightly cheaper fare. I booked it. This time the booking and payment went through without a hitch or glitch. Immediately I received my PNR No., Booking Ref. No. and confirmation email. I was even able to web check-in and reserve a seat and received my e-boarding pass two months ahead. I was surprised that a web check-in was allowed so far ahead. Most of my experiences has been 72 hours the earliest you can web check-in.

With this Saver fare i don't have the luxury of changing dates of travel at nil cost nor is it a direct flight. It is still via Delhi with a stoppage and fare higher than my original flight plan.

My experience with Indigo Airlines's marketing tactics enticing public leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. This kind of practices should not be allowed to continue. A reputable airline such as Indigo should ensure that their marketed fares go hand in hand with smooth booking on their website.

Being a senior citizen i have to be careful with my expenditure hence i travel by train. Train journeys are not always comfortable and it is tedious so sometimes i bite the bullet and allow myself little luxury of travelling by air to save myself the tediousness of long and slow journey by trains.

I hope a positive action will come out of this complaint.

Thank you for your time and await your response.

Best regards
Bibi Hamel (Miss)
bibi.[protected]@gmail.com