31 May,2011 06:47 AM IST | | Parth Satam
First-timeu00a0flyer Suresh Jambulkar (36) did not know his maiden air journey would be one of the most harrowing experiences of his life and that he would end up paying double of what he had already paid. Booked on a Kingfisher Airlines flight to Bangalore, Jambulkar was denied a boarding pass at the Kingfisher counter at the airport as he did not know rules stipulated passengers had to report 45 minutes before the scheduled flight departure.
Unhappy experience: Suresh Jambulkar says e-ticket had no info
on 45-min rule
The mechanical engineer from Talegaon who works with Tata Technologies in Hinjewadi said he was not informed via SMS or on the e-ticket (MiD DAY has a copy) that flyers must reach 45 minutes before departure time.
He had to shell out another Rs 12,000 for a new ticket on an Air India flight. Jambulkar was booked on the Pune-Bangalore IT 3410B on May 13, which had a departure time of 7.50 am.
u00a0
"I reached the airport at 7 am sharp and hit the booking counter when there were three passengers ahead of me. When my turn came, I was told I was 15 minutes late. I asked the attendant to write on my voucher that the boarding pass had been denied and sign it, which he did. "'Reported late at 7.20 am,' he wrote," said Jambulkar. "I would have admitted my mistake if I would have reached late in spite of the airline notifying me in advance about the rule."u00a0u00a0
The Other Side
Kingfisher Vice-President Corporate Communications Prakash Mirpuri said: "E-ticket and the web check-in documents all clearly specify that guests must report to the check-in counters at least 45 minutes before departure for domestic flights. As such, it is expected that travelling guests are diligent and make an effort to read and familiarize themselves with important information like this which is contained in the travel documents. Having said that, we regret any inconvenience caused on account of this oversight on the part of our guest."
