A recent incident on an Air India flight from Chicago to Delhi has triggered outrage and renewed criticism over the airline’s service quality. A passenger claimed she was forced out of her business class seat under the pretext of a technical snag—only to later witness the crew occupying those same seats for rest.
Seat Downgrade Citing “Technical Snag”
The passenger shared her experience with aviation blog View from the Wing, alleging she was informed at the boarding gate that her business class seat would not recline due to a fault. Air India offered her two economy seats as compensation, which she refused. On boarding, she discovered that her seat only had a broken tray table—not a reclining issue as claimed.
Crew Spotted Sleeping in Business Class
Midway through the long-haul flight, the woman reportedly saw several crew members using the very business class rows passengers were asked to vacate. Blankets were pulled out, and the seats were cleared before takeoff. “This is the same seat they were pushing me to vacate. Now they’re using it to sleep,” she stated.
Questionable Reassignment Forms and Repeated Behavior
The passenger also pointed out that the reassignment form given to her had a glaring typo (“that thee is a technical issue”) and a pre-filled flight number—suggesting the practice might be common.
She said the same scenario played out on her return flight, where another business class passenger was asked to downgrade using an identical form and reason. In both instances, business class seats remained empty for passengers and were later used by the crew.
Air India Under Fire Again
Air India has yet to respond to the allegations. The incident comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the airline’s service and old aircraft. The Chicago–Delhi route is among Air India’s longest and still uses aging planes pending refurbishment.
Despite ambitious plans under Tata Group ownership—including a record aircraft order and fleet modernization—frequent reports like this underscore the wide gap between Air India’s promised transformation and the current passenger experience.
