Domestic air travelers in India are not only paying higher prices for airline tickets, as airfares have been hovering around a 10-year high for the last six months but are forced to pay exorbitant amounts for packaged food and bottled water on flights.
Around 72 percent of air passengers surveyed by the community social media platform LocalCircles complained of bottled water being sold onboard flights at a higher published Maximum Retail Price (MRP) than the one in regular markets in the last 12 months, while 59 percent had a similar complaint about packaged food.
The survey, conducted by LocalCircles received 22,000 responses from consumers across 322 districts across the country. It said in the last 12 months it received hundreds of complaints from consumers, who said they paid significantly higher prices for food and water.
Consumers reported five to 15 times higher MRP being published on certain packaged products and sold on-board, the survey said.
Over the last 12 months, LocalCircles has received hundreds of complaints from consumers who have been charged a significantly higher price when buying packaged food or water onboard their flight.
The report mentions that in 2017, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) amended the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, effectively banning dual MRP.
These rules came into effect on January 1, 2018, following the official notification by the Government. However, in practice, this rule is still not being followed strictly due to a lack of proper enforcement.
"This is despite the government guidelines and orders by the national commission prohibiting identical pre-packaged products from having different MRPs at different locations," the report said.
Consumers also indicate that products with similar net contents are being branded slightly differently to publish a significantly higher MRP for sales onboard flights.
The survey also displayed the images of two cup noodles packs, one of which was priced at Rs 35, while another of a different flavour priced at Rs 500 onboard the flight.
Similarly, 36 percent of respondents said that on more than 10 occasions in the last 12 months, airlines sold them bottled water with a published MRP higher than the market rate.
Around 14 percent suffered this experience “5 to 10 times”, while 22 percent said it happened to them “3-4 times”. Another 14 percent opted for the “once or twice” option, while 7 percent of the respondents said it had “never happened” to them. Close to 7 percent gave no clear response, opting for “can’t say”.
The survey comes a week after IndiGo received a show-cause notice from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
The notice was issued to IndiGo over a complaint by a Delhi-based dietician. The woman passenger had alleged that she had found a worm in a sandwich served by IndiGo staff during a Delhi-to-Mumbai flight on December 29.
The incident happened onboard IndiGo flight 6E 6107 from Delhi to Mumbai. The passenger, Kushboo Gupta, shared on Instagram a short video of the worm in the sandwich onboard the flight.
In the video, she questioned the quality of food being served by the airline. She had said that despite informing the cabin crew about finding the worm, they continued to distribute the sandwiches to other passengers. She also wondered about the kind of training given to the airline staff and who would be responsible in case someone contracts an infection.
As the video went viral, the airline apologised and said the matter was under examination.
"We are aware of a concern raised by one of our customers regarding their experience on flight 6E 6107 from Delhi to Mumbai. We want to emphasize our unwavering commitment to maintaining the highest standards of food and beverage service on board," IndiGo said in a statement.
"Upon investigation, our crew had immediately ceased the service of the specific sandwich in question. The matter is currently under thorough examination, and we are working closely with our caterer to ensure appropriate corrective measures are taken. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused to the passenger," the airline's spokesperson added.
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