 "Singapore Airlines")
Singapore Airlines has been ordered to compensate an Indian couple with over Rs 2 lakh due to a malfunction in the automatic recliner seats in the business class.
Telangana's Director General of Police (DGP) Ravi Gupta and his wife had filed a lawsuit against the airline. Despite paying Rs 66,750 each for business class seats, they were asked to manually adjust seats equipped with an automatic recline feature, according to a report in the New York Post.
On May 23, 2023, Gupta and his wife were travelling to Australia via Singapore from Hyderabad. According to the complaint filed by the couple, the recliner seats in the business class of the airline malfunctioned, and the airline asked them to manually adjust the seats.
Expressing dissatisfaction over their flight experience despite paying a substantial sum for their tickets, Gupta raised the matter with the company, and they were presented with an offer of 10,000 frequent flyer miles or loyalty points each as compensation. However, the couple rejected the offer and chose to pursue legal action, the report added.
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Telangana ruled in favour of the Indian couple, and ordered the Singapore Airlines to compensate them with Rs 2,13,585 for the reported "mental agony".
In the court filings, Gupta said the airline treated them as though they were "economy class passengers", despite having paid for business class seats. The couple pointed out that due to a malfunction in the automatically reclining seats, they were compelled to manually adjust their seats, resulting in an experience that kept them awake throughout the flight.
The report stated that last week, the couple won their legal battle when the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Telangana ruled in their favour. The court ordered the Singapore Airlines to compensate them with Rs 2,13,585 for the "mental agony" and physical discomfort they endured.
