Chaos hits AI: Three of family rebooked on Pune flights on 3 days
Pune: USA resident Anish Agarwal's mother, father and brother were to travel from Toronto to Pune via Delhi on an Air India flight (AI-190) on Friday. The carrier suddenly changed their travel dates.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
"Now, my brother will travel on Friday, father on June 28 (Sunday) and my mother on June 30 (Monday). I tried calling up the airline's customer support number from the USA, but in vain. I was put on hold for four hours, after which the call got disconnected. I got no solution. This has led to us booking hotel rooms for three additional nights in Toronto," Agarwal told TOI.
Four members of a Pune-based family, set to fly from Mumbai to Newark on another Air India flight (AI-191) on Friday, faced a similar situation.
Santosh Gupta, the owner of Shree Vinayak Holidays, said their flight was suddenly cancelled on Thursday.
"Upon enquiry, we learnt that one of them (mother of the family) will travel on the same flight on Friday, which the airline had earlier said was cancelled. The other three would be travelling to Newark via Delhi on June 29 (Sunday). We had booked the tickets for them in January," Gupta said.
An official statement from the airline regarding these issues was awaited till going to press.
A source in the airline said the reduction of the fleet size in the international sector was among the reasons behind these problems. "In some cases, different PNRs might have led to the different travel dates of members of the same family. We are providing all possible help to affected flyers," the airline source said.
Many international travellers have faced hassles after Air India temporarily curtailed its international services by 15% to maintain operational stability and enhance passengers' safety.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
In addition to its international fleet, the airline has cut down on its domestic routes as well.
A flyer, who recently flew to Singapore on Air India, said, "I was slated to fly on June 23. Around 12 hours before the flight, I got the information that it was suspended. The alternative offered to me delayed my travel by more than eight hours. I wasn't offered any compensation or hotel accommodation for the same."
Vinit Shah, another flyer, wrote on X on June 23, "The airline (Air India) has offered only one option: fly Pune-Delhi-Singapore with a five-hour layover. Also, there is no date flexibility. My elderly mother cannot manage this halt."
Ravindra Zawar, another passenger, wrote last week, "Flight number AI146 from London (Gatwick) to Goa on June 28 has been changed to Heathrow to Mumbai with a 10-hour layover in Mumbai, and then to Goa."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
21 minutes ago
- Mint
Warren Buffett donates record $6 billion Berkshire shares
Buffett donates $6 billion in Berkshire stock to charities Buffett's total charitable giving exceeds $60 billion Children to oversee charitable trust after Buffett's death June 27 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett donated on Friday another $6 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Gates Foundation and four family charities, his biggest annual donation since he began giving away his fortune nearly two decades ago. The donation of about 12.36 million Berkshire Class B shares boosted Buffett's overall giving to the charities to well over $60 billion. He donated 9.43 million shares to the Gates Foundation; 943,384 shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation; and 660,366 shares to each of three charities led respectively by his children Howard, Susie, and Peter: the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation and NoVo Foundation. Warren Buffett still owns 13.8% of Berkshire's stock, based on reported shares outstanding. His $152 billion net worth prior to Friday's donations made him the world's fifth-richest person, according to Forbes magazine. Buffett would rank sixth after the donations, which surpassed the $5.3 billion he donated last June. He donated another $1.14 billion to the family charities last November. In a statement, Buffett maintained he does not intend to sell any Berkshire shares. Now 94, Buffett began giving away his fortune in 2006. He changed his will last year, designating 99.5% of his remaining fortune after his death to a charitable trust overseen by his children. They will have about a decade to distribute the money, and must decide where it goes unanimously. Susie Buffett is 71, Howard Buffett is 70, and Peter Buffett is 67. Warren Buffett has led Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire since 1965. The $1.05 trillion conglomerate owns close to 200 businesses including Geico car insurance and the BNSF railroad, and dozens of stocks including Apple and American Express. Susie Buffett leads the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which funds reproductive health and is named for her mother, who was Warren Buffett's first wife. The Sherwood Foundation supports Nebraska nonprofits and early childhood education. The Howard G. Buffett Foundation focuses on global hunger, combating human trafficking and mitigating conflicts. The NoVo Foundation has initiatives focused on marginalized girls and women, and on indigenous communities. Buffett said last June that donations to the Gates Foundation would end when he dies. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Mint
22 minutes ago
- Mint
Intels top strategy officer to depart this month
By Jeffrey Dastin, Stephen Nellis and Max A. Cherney June 27 (Reuters) - Intel's top strategy executive, Safroadu Yeboah-Amankwah, is departing the company, the latest change since Lip-Bu Tan took the chipmaker's helm in March, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Intel confirmed the departure, saying, "We are grateful for Saf's contributions to Intel and wish him the best." Yeboah-Amankwah, who has served as Intel's chief strategy officer since 2020, is leaving on June 30, said the two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Yeboah-Amankwah has overseen growth initiatives, strategic partnerships and equity investments for Intel, among other responsibilities. Some of Yeboah-Amankwah's strategy functions will now fall to Sachin Katti, whom Intel recently elevated to chief technology and AI officer. Intel Capital, the company's venture arm, is reporting up to Tan, said one of the two people and a third source briefed on the matter. Tan is a prolific investor and founded San Francisco-based venture capital firm Walden International in 1987. As Intel's CEO, Tan so far has flattened the semiconductor giant's leadership team and taken direct oversight of its important data center and AI chip group, plus its personal-computer chip group. He has brought in new engineering leaders. He has also aimed to cut what he viewed as Intel's bloated, slow-moving middle-management layer. Tan's moves follow years of manufacturing challenges at Intel and lost opportunity for mobile phone and AI chips. His predecessor, Pat Gelsinger, attempted an ambitious turnaround though he compounded some of Intel's problems, Reuters previously reported. Intel reported an annual net loss attributable to the company - its first since 1986 - of $18.8 billion in 2024. (Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin, Stephen Nellis and Max Cherney; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Hindustan Times
30 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Parl committee summons civil aviation secy
New Delhi: The Parliament committee on transport, tourism and culture has summoned civil aviation secretary Samir Kumar Sinha to appear before the committee on July 8 to discuss issues regarding safety concerns in the aviation sector, two officials aware of the development said on Friday. Parl committee summons civil aviation secy 'The committee met on June 23 to discuss air congestion and related issues. It was then decided to have a detailed discussion regarding safety concerns in Indian aviation,' one of the officials said. This comes after the Gatwick bound Air India flight, formerly AI 171, on June 12, crashed moments after take- off from Ahmedabad airport, killing 241 of the 242 people on board. While the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is investigating the matter, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered additional and mandatory checks to be performed on all B787 aircraft of Air India. 'The civil aviation secretary has been summoned by the committee with an aim to have detailed discussion on various aspects of aviation safety,' another official said. 'Airlines along with the DGCA and AAI (Airports Authority of India) may also be summoned. A decision on this is likely to be taken soon,' the official added. HT reached out to the civil aviation ministry (MoCA) but did not get its response till the time of going to print. Meanwhile, Air India, which has 33 B787 aircraft in its fleet, has completed the mandatory checks (as instructed by the DGCA) on 28 of them. The airline has also been conducting additional checks on their wide-body aircraft and hence is operating with 15% reduced capacity. It is also operating with nearly five percent reduced capacity of narrow-body aircraft. Narrow body aircraft are used for long haul flights (like A320 and B737 aircraft) whereas wide-body aircraft like B787 and B777s are large aircraft which are used to operate Europe and US flights. While the reason behind the cause of the B787 registered as VT ANB, remains unknown, the AAIB has begun analysing its black box in its lab in Delhi. The government, as per rules, needs to submit the final accident report within a year.
