Thursday, March 23, 2006

Air Deccan Woes

This came out in Mid-day. Its unintentionally hilarious :-)

Delhi resident Omkar Singh Pal (42) got into a fight with an Air Deccan airhostess over Rs 20. Pal refused to pay the airline its marked up price for two bags of chips.

The MRP was Rs 10 per packet, but Pal was furious as Air Deccan charged him Rs 20 per pack.He got angrier when the airhostess refused to give him a bill, as the amount was less than Rs 50.

When the flight landed in Mumbai, policemen greeted Pal at the airport and asked him to explain the matter. Both the airline as well as Pal lodged complaints against each other.

“Why should I pay more than the printed price? Why should they refuse to furnish a bill? I will move the consumer court as I have been overcharged. The hostess should not have argued with me. She lied to the pilot that I was misbehaving with her,” said an incensed Pal.

Air Deccan spokesman Vijaya Menon, however, said that Pal was being unreasonable. “The in-flight menu rates are higher than MRP. We charge Rs 20 for a packet of chips (Frito Lays), as it also includes service tax and loading charges. We don’t give bills for purchases below Rs 50. We complained against Pal because the argument could have led to a security problem,” she said.

Spouse reaction to the "security problem" issue :-)

Pal: “That’s it, I’ve had it! I’m hijacking this plane and not letting it land unless you sell me your chips for Rs. 10!”
Air Hostess: “Umm, no.”
Pal: “Arrrgh!” *bonk* *creak*
Air Hostess: *shriek* “He’s opened the emergency exit!! People are flying out the…” *swoosh*
Pilot: “Mayday, mayday!”
People on the ground: “Hey, are those bags of chips falling from the sky?”

2 comments:

Indianpeppone said...

Good one.....Love his take on it

Nautilus said...

@Indianpeppone: Mid-day titled it "Chipskate" :-)

I empathise with the guy though. Everytime I shell out Rs 90 for two pieces of dry bed and a smelly slice of cheese, I mentally kick myself in the derrier for not remembering to eat before coming to the airport!!