BENGALURU: A Bengaluru-based Marketing professional who flew from Ahmedabad to Bengaluru for the first time with his pet on a flight lashed out at Akasa Air on Monday for the “horrible’ experience. The airline on Tuesday issued a detailed statement refuting the charges.
Pathak, a Marketing and Communications professional, travelled with his wife and pet Shih Tzu by QP 1332 on January 26, charged in his post on Linkedin that the image of a comfortable travel for the pet for Rs 5,000 was far from the truth.
Specifying details, he said their flight left Ahmedabad at 1.40 am (Jan 27) which was three hours behind schedule. The couple had reached three hours in advance of the scheduled 10.20 pm time (Jan 26) as it was their pet’s maiden travel. This resulted in six hours at the airport with the pet.
The ground staff and CISF at the airport did not permit the pet out of the container even once during the long wait, he charged. There was no provision for pets to relieve themselves and the blowers in the washroom would intimidate them, he added. Neither the ground staff nor the CISF permitted them to leave the terminal and return, he charged.
There was no special seat provided for the pet and he was told to place it near the leg space, the post alleged. “Boarding took 40 mins during which my pet got heated up. We were also sweating because the ACs were not yet switched on. For the first 45 minutes of the flight my dog kept crying and to console him I placed his container in my lap so that he is able to breathe. I just let his head out for a while.… I had to forcefully shove my crying pet’s head inside the container multiple times, “ the post said.
The steward kept threatening the flyer that if the issue was reported to the captain the flight would be turned back.
Akasa Air’s statement said it had carried 2,500 pets so far with well-defined protocols followed to ensure the safety of customers and crew. “The scheduled flight was at 10.30 pm and passengers were informed of the rescheduled time of 11.59 pm close to 12 hours in advance. The flyer was given the option of taking the pet outside the terminal and returning but he declined to do so as security checks had to be repeated," it said
"Priority check-in is given for pet parents in line with its policy, the airline added. The passenger was inside the flight at 12.52 am and it took off at 1.24 am due to poor weather," it said.
"The cabin temperature was maintained at optimum level during boarding and no passenger had any complaint, it claimed. During pushback, the passenger expressed discomfort and the cabin temperature was adjusted," it added.