Air Deccan

mangofanatic · Feb 19th, 2006, 05:38

Really, john.sw, I'm only offering up my experience, since somebody did ask about their refund procedures on this thread, did they not???

Quote:

Originally Posted by nirola

has any one ever cancelled the air deccan ticket , booked on their website by using credit card . ?

i would like to know the time these guys took to transfer / back the money in ur credit card and wht deduction/charges they make if u cancell it before one week of departure ?

Refunding two Rs500 tickets was not the big deal. It was only relevant in light of the fact that someone who is UNCONNECTED to our Rs. 2000+ ticket was allowed to make a change to OUR flight plans. This was another couple of tickets, not the Rs. 500 one. We are students and $50 is not nothing to us. We "told them to refund the 50%," because that is all they would offer for a flight that THEY had cancelled and THEY had allowed someone else to reschedule. Believe me, we were quite polite in explaining our case, but their response was not the same. We got along in India just fine other than this incident. I am Indian myself, and this was not a cultural misunderstanding.

The Air Deccan people knew the person that they were allowing to make an official change to our itinerary was NOT the passenger nor the credit card holder. Yet they were defending their actions and telling us that we have to pay for their mistake. I understand that people make mistakes, but it's how they handle them and deal with the customer that make all the difference.

Like I said...

Quote:

Originally Posted by mangofanatic

MY advice...be prepared to lose the money you pay, DESPITE what their refund policy may say. And DO NOT use Air Deccan if you value your time in India.

In other words, "here's my opinion, but if you have the time and think it's worth it, go for it!".

Don't you think it relevant to let people know what to expect when dealing with this company, either good or bad? Especially since someone has asked about it on the thread??? I don't doubt people's good experieces mentioned on this thread, I can only speak for my own.

I thought that's what this website is all about!?! Not about offering my experiences and then being personally attacked by some stranger!

raos · Feb 19th, 2006, 09:41

I have never flown Air Deccan but I have been in airports in India where I have run into Air Deccan passengers. One time when I was flying out of Delhi, Air Deccan passengers were screaming at the employees for a 13 hrs delay. Another time, I saw Air Deccan passengers being deplaned 10 mins before scheduled departure in Mumbai. My relatives in India strongly discouraged us to travel on Air Deccan. So, we just avoided it. Just because an ariline is cheap doesn't mean it is going to be bad but Air Deccan clearly is not considered to be reliable.

mikkie50 · Feb 19th, 2006, 09:48

hi my partner and i have also booke our flights from cochin to goa via bangalore have printed our tickets of no problem £83.00 for the two of us i am well happy with airdeccan
mikkie50

Nick-H · Feb 19th, 2006, 11:39

mangofanatic's experiences are perfectly valid.

It is a shame that familly interference became involved, and, on another occasion, it might have been helpful that they allowed a credible person to make a change.

It is certanly true that, while some are satified and happy with Air Deccan, others are not --- and if I ever use them I will remember an IMer's advice that it should not be for an important trip where timing matters. But I have already read enough negative stuff here that they would not be my first choice. But then, money talks, and cheap tickets shout!

john.sw · Feb 19th, 2006, 17:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by mangofanatic

Really, john.sw, I'm only offering up my experience...

...Don't you think it relevant to let people know what to expect when dealing with this company, either good or bad? Especially since someone has asked about it on the thread??? I don't doubt people's good experieces mentioned on this thread, I can only speak for my own.

I thought that's what this website is all about!?! Not about offering my experiences and then being personally attacked by some stranger!

I'm sorry that you saw my reply as an attack because it certainly was not.

I'm only offering up my experience.

Don't you think it relevant to let people know what to expect when dealing with this company, either good or bad? Especially since someone has asked about it on the thread? I don't doubt people's bad experieces mentioned on this thread, I can only speak for my own.

I thought that's what this website is all about!?! Not about offering my experiences and then being personally accused of attacking some stranger!

emilii · Feb 19th, 2006, 18:19

We have used Air Deccan twice. Both times it worked out just fine and it was on time too. Flying again in three weeks.

Nick-H · Feb 19th, 2006, 18:35

John, on this occasion I feel that your post could have been read as being aggressive. In fact, when I read it I thought it out-of-character.

mikkie50 · Feb 19th, 2006, 20:22

whoa there guys. now now no need for all this :-))))) every body to their own opinion.s It does not matter what happens in india its all part of the experience be it good or bad RIGHT

phobal · Feb 20th, 2006, 01:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by john.sw

I'm sorry that you saw my reply as an attack because it certainly was not.

john.sw · Feb 20th, 2006, 09:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick-H

John, on this occasion I feel that your post could have been read as being aggressive. In fact, when I read it I thought it out-of-character.

I can only apologise. Had you seen my facial expression, you would have known that I was only trying to be helpful.

Maybe I should use more avatars!

SORRY!

canucks · Feb 21st, 2006, 05:39

Booked Delhi-Bangalore, Bangalore-Trivandrum tickets on the Air Deccan website, got my PNR # and printed the tickets. Just wondering about the Dynafares. They say the "Dynafare scheme are subject to availability and are on a first come first serve basis", does this mean a first come first "book on the website" basis or do they overbook and its a first check-in first serve basis?

Malkers · Feb 21st, 2006, 17:34

Ok lets see if we can debate this a little better and balance the scales a little. I can well sympathise with mango and had that happened to me I'd have had the same reaction. A company is often only as good as its staff at the time and it takes several years for a new company to instill the correct practices in their employees and weed out the idiots. I'm sure if Capt Gopinath was reading this thread then he would have some genuine concern as I get the impression this is not how he wants his customers to feel!

Lets look at the fact that air travel has always been an expensive luxury in India both for Indians and foreigners alike. Suddenly in 2003 a new airline arrives offering airfares at 721 rupees to virtually any destination in India if you book early enough and even at full price still a big reduction compared to other airlines. No dual fares either so thousands of foreigners have switched to Deccan Air for their internal flights. Well the impact of that is obvious and no company could really be expected to handle perfectly a situation that has never happened before, I'm sure they knew it would prove popular but perhaps not as popular as it has done. I first flew with them in Nov 2004 and have lost count of how many times I've flown since but they have taken me to many destinations in India including 4 times to Goa and my experiences have been 100% positive which I guess is partly down to luck. Sure I have had a couple of delays but only a couple and the longest one was just under 2 hours because of a technical fault on the aircraft which I for one am prepared to wait for!

I have made a total of 4 cancellations through their website and each time it has worked and the funds less 10% (can't complain about that) have arrived back on the credit card! But, I do agree their website is pretty useless and its taken me an hour to book a ticket sometimes after so many errors but thankfully as I'm sat on the pc 10 hours a day then its ok with me, its particularly worse on the days that they open new bookings. I've emailed them about it and never got a response but then I never expected one either, I'm sure they are aware of it and I'm sure before long it will be perfect.

Now if you look at all the other airlines, they are all lowering their prices to get customers back, if they can do this at a profit now then why couldn't they have done this before, Air Deccan are wholly responsible for this and have done or are doing just what they claim by empowering all Indians or 'The Common Man' as they put it, to fly! Sure we all know that someone who lives in a tent is still not gonna fly but there will be many more sons and daughters who have got jobs in the city that are now able to fly back and visit their folks in a village. I think this company has changed a lot of Indian lives. Though as a westerner I can afford a higher fare, I certainly couldn't afford to have taken as many trips as I have without Air Deccan and as you might have read on another posting of mine recently I managed to book 24 flights for April and May, 20 of these I got for the 721 price including taxes and the highest fare was 935rs, I paid a bit more for Andamans as I was late getting online but still very cheap and this was somewhere I had dismissed as it was too expensive by other means.

I'm a big fan of Ryanair in UK too and remember how bloody awful they were when they started and how much they have improved since. It will happen with Air Deccan too once they get themselves organised enough to cope with their massive workload and to set them in the right direction they have even employed one of Ryanair's top men from Ireland to do it.

I'm sure something will go wrong on one of my future trips with Air Deccan but I'm ready for that and thankfully I have enough time here if something gets cancelled to simply rebook and do it another day, I understand someone coming here for a short holiday and having it ruined and understand how frustrating that can be. If I did have something that was time critical or I had a connecting flight the same day to somewhere else then perhaps I wouldn't risk Air Deccan purely for the fact that they wont compensate you for anything outside of their own individual flight, but then I have seen all the other airlines go through huge delays and cancellations too. I did fly with Kingfisher recently and have to admit their service was top drawer, so it should be seeing as I paid double the price of every other person on the flight!

Lets just try to celebrate the fact that there is now huge competition now in Indian skies which can only benefit everyone, personal and in business!

Nuff Said!

Ta for reading!

Malc

mangofanatic · Feb 21st, 2006, 20:24

Good post, Malkers! I probably won't be able to make it back to India for another 5 years or so, and what you say makes great sense. Maybe we'll give them a try then! Cheers for the free market.

mikkie50 · Feb 21st, 2006, 23:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Malkers

Ok lets see if we can debate this a little better and balance the scales a little. I can well sympathise with mango and had that happened to me I'd have had the same reaction. A company is often only as good as its staff at the time and it takes several years for a new company to instill the correct practices in their employees and weed out the idiots. I'm sure if Capt Gopinath was reading this thread then he would have some genuine concern as I get the impression this is not how he wants his customers to feel!

Lets look at the fact that air travel has always been an expensive luxury in India both for Indians and foreigners alike. Suddenly in 2003 a new airline arrives offering airfares at 721 rupees to virtually any destination in India if you book early enough and even at full price still a big reduction compared to other airlines. No dual fares either so thousands of foreigners have switched to Deccan Air for their internal flights. Well the impact of that is obvious and no company could really be expected to handle perfectly a situation that has never happened before, I'm sure they knew it would prove popular but perhaps not as popular as it has done. I first flew with them in Nov 2004 and have lost count of how many times I've flown since but they have taken me to many destinations in India including 4 times to Goa and my experiences have been 100% positive which I guess is partly down to luck. Sure I have had a couple of delays but only a couple and the longest one was just under 2 hours because of a technical fault on the aircraft which I for one am prepared to wait for!

I have made a total of 4 cancellations through their website and each time it has worked and the funds less 10% (can't complain about that) have arrived back on the credit card! But, I do agree their website is pretty useless and its taken me an hour to book a ticket sometimes after so many errors but thankfully as I'm sat on the pc 10 hours a day then its ok with me, its particularly worse on the days that they open new bookings. I've emailed them about it and never got a response but then I never expected one either, I'm sure they are aware of it and I'm sure before long it will be perfect.

Now if you look at all the other airlines, they are all lowering their prices to get customers back, if they can do this at a profit now then why couldn't they have done this before, Air Deccan are wholly responsible for this and have done or are doing just what they claim by empowering all Indians or 'The Common Man' as they put it, to fly! Sure we all know that someone who lives in a tent is still not gonna fly but there will be many more sons and daughters who have got jobs in the city that are now able to fly back and visit their folks in a village. I think this company has changed a lot of Indian lives. Though as a westerner I can afford a higher fare, I certainly couldn't afford to have taken as many trips as I have without Air Deccan and as you might have read on another posting of mine recently I managed to book 24 flights for April and May, 20 of these I got for the 721 price including taxes and the highest fare was 935rs, I paid a bit more for Andamans as I was late getting online but still very cheap and this was somewhere I had dismissed as it was too expensive by other means.

I'm a big fan of Ryanair in UK too and remember how bloody awful they were when they started and how much they have improved since. It will happen with Air Deccan too once they get themselves organised enough to cope with their massive workload and to set them in the right direction they have even employed one of Ryanair's top men from Ireland to do it.

I'm sure something will go wrong on one of my future trips with Air Deccan but I'm ready for that and thankfully I have enough time here if something gets cancelled to simply rebook and do it another day, I understand someone coming here for a short holiday and having it ruined and understand how frustrating that can be. If I did have something that was time critical or I had a connecting flight the same day to somewhere else then perhaps I wouldn't risk Air Deccan purely for the fact that they wont compensate you for anything outside of their own individual flight, but then I have seen all the other airlines go through huge delays and cancellations too. I did fly with Kingfisher recently and have to admit their service was top drawer, so it should be seeing as I paid double the price of every other person on the flight!

Lets just try to celebrate the fact that there is now huge competition now in Indian skies which can only benefit everyone, personal and in business!

Nuff Said!

Ta for reading!

Malc

hi malc yeah sure is a good post i agree m8 well i will let you know soon as i have a flite booked with air deccan from cochin to goa 17 march will be thinking of this forum when i am in the terminal lounge waiting to board

cheers mikkie

travelhappy · Feb 22nd, 2006, 22:36

Do they charge more for non-indians? i find that is usually the practice among domestic airlines in India and am planning to fly from Chennai to Cochin and then from Cochin to Bangalore via Air Deccan.

Feb 19th, 2006, 11:39	#19
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 27,693	mangofanatic's experiences are perfectly valid. It is a shame that familly interference became involved, and, on another occasion, it might have been helpful that they allowed a credible person to make a change. It is certanly true that, while some are satified and happy with Air Deccan, others are not --- and if I ever use them I will remember an IMer's advice that it should not be for an important trip where timing matters. But I have already read enough negative stuff here that they would not be my first choice. But then, money talks, and cheap tickets shout! __________________ . Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

Feb 19th, 2006, 18:19	#21
emilii Back to Delhi =)) Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Finland Posts: 164	We have used Air Deccan twice. Both times it worked out just fine and it was on time too. Flying again in three weeks. __________________ Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. -Dr. Seuss My homeland http://virtual.finland.fi/Picture_Book

Feb 21st, 2006, 05:39	#26
canucks Ex Luna Scientia Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: edmonton, canada Posts: 21	Dynafares Booked Delhi-Bangalore, Bangalore-Trivandrum tickets on the Air Deccan website, got my PNR # and printed the tickets. Just wondering about the Dynafares. They say the "Dynafare scheme are subject to availability and are on a first come first serve basis", does this mean a first come first "book on the website" basis or do they overbook and its a first check-in first serve basis?

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Feb 19th, 2006, 09:41	#17
raos Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: U.S. Posts: 199	I have never flown Air Deccan but I have been in airports in India where I have run into Air Deccan passengers. One time when I was flying out of Delhi, Air Deccan passengers were screaming at the employees for a 13 hrs delay. Another time, I saw Air Deccan passengers being deplaned 10 mins before scheduled departure in Mumbai. My relatives in India strongly discouraged us to travel on Air Deccan. So, we just avoided it. Just because an ariline is cheap doesn't mean it is going to be bad but Air Deccan clearly is not considered to be reliable.

Feb 19th, 2006, 09:48	#18
mikkie50 Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: lancashire England Posts: 68	hi my partner and i have also booke our flights from cochin to goa via bangalore have printed our tickets of no problem £83.00 for the two of us i am well happy with airdeccan mikkie50

Feb 19th, 2006, 18:35	#22
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 27,693	John, on this occasion I feel that your post could have been read as being aggressive. In fact, when I read it I thought it out-of-character.

Feb 19th, 2006, 20:22	#23
mikkie50 Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: lancashire England Posts: 68	whoa there guys. now now no need for all this :-))))) every body to their own opinion.s It does not matter what happens in india its all part of the experience be it good or bad RIGHT

Feb 21st, 2006, 17:34	#27
Malkers Not So Bloody Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chipping Sodbury, UK (was Bangalore) Posts: 411	Ok lets see if we can debate this a little better and balance the scales a little. I can well sympathise with mango and had that happened to me I'd have had the same reaction. A company is often only as good as its staff at the time and it takes several years for a new company to instill the correct practices in their employees and weed out the idiots. I'm sure if Capt Gopinath was reading this thread then he would have some genuine concern as I get the impression this is not how he wants his customers to feel! Lets look at the fact that air travel has always been an expensive luxury in India both for Indians and foreigners alike. Suddenly in 2003 a new airline arrives offering airfares at 721 rupees to virtually any destination in India if you book early enough and even at full price still a big reduction compared to other airlines. No dual fares either so thousands of foreigners have switched to Deccan Air for their internal flights. Well the impact of that is obvious and no company could really be expected to handle perfectly a situation that has never happened before, I'm sure they knew it would prove popular but perhaps not as popular as it has done. I first flew with them in Nov 2004 and have lost count of how many times I've flown since but they have taken me to many destinations in India including 4 times to Goa and my experiences have been 100% positive which I guess is partly down to luck. Sure I have had a couple of delays but only a couple and the longest one was just under 2 hours because of a technical fault on the aircraft which I for one am prepared to wait for! I have made a total of 4 cancellations through their website and each time it has worked and the funds less 10% (can't complain about that) have arrived back on the credit card! But, I do agree their website is pretty useless and its taken me an hour to book a ticket sometimes after so many errors but thankfully as I'm sat on the pc 10 hours a day then its ok with me, its particularly worse on the days that they open new bookings. I've emailed them about it and never got a response but then I never expected one either, I'm sure they are aware of it and I'm sure before long it will be perfect. Now if you look at all the other airlines, they are all lowering their prices to get customers back, if they can do this at a profit now then why couldn't they have done this before, Air Deccan are wholly responsible for this and have done or are doing just what they claim by empowering all Indians or 'The Common Man' as they put it, to fly! Sure we all know that someone who lives in a tent is still not gonna fly but there will be many more sons and daughters who have got jobs in the city that are now able to fly back and visit their folks in a village. I think this company has changed a lot of Indian lives. Though as a westerner I can afford a higher fare, I certainly couldn't afford to have taken as many trips as I have without Air Deccan and as you might have read on another posting of mine recently I managed to book 24 flights for April and May, 20 of these I got for the 721 price including taxes and the highest fare was 935rs, I paid a bit more for Andamans as I was late getting online but still very cheap and this was somewhere I had dismissed as it was too expensive by other means. I'm a big fan of Ryanair in UK too and remember how bloody awful they were when they started and how much they have improved since. It will happen with Air Deccan too once they get themselves organised enough to cope with their massive workload and to set them in the right direction they have even employed one of Ryanair's top men from Ireland to do it. I'm sure something will go wrong on one of my future trips with Air Deccan but I'm ready for that and thankfully I have enough time here if something gets cancelled to simply rebook and do it another day, I understand someone coming here for a short holiday and having it ruined and understand how frustrating that can be. If I did have something that was time critical or I had a connecting flight the same day to somewhere else then perhaps I wouldn't risk Air Deccan purely for the fact that they wont compensate you for anything outside of their own individual flight, but then I have seen all the other airlines go through huge delays and cancellations too. I did fly with Kingfisher recently and have to admit their service was top drawer, so it should be seeing as I paid double the price of every other person on the flight! Lets just try to celebrate the fact that there is now huge competition now in Indian skies which can only benefit everyone, personal and in business! Nuff Said! Ta for reading! Malc

Feb 21st, 2006, 20:24	#28
mangofanatic Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: New York City Posts: 34	Good post, Malkers! I probably won't be able to make it back to India for another 5 years or so, and what you say makes great sense. Maybe we'll give them a try then! Cheers for the free market.

Feb 22nd, 2006, 22:36	#30
travelhappy Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Boston Posts: 15	Do they charge more for non-indians? i find that is usually the practice among domestic airlines in India and am planning to fly from Chennai to Cochin and then from Cochin to Bangalore via Air Deccan.

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