ABU DHABI // Members of the Indian community have expressed anger at budget airline Air India Express after it slashed its free baggage allowance by 10kg.
Passengers now have to pay an extra Dh100 for 10kg when returning home.
Indians who use the airline have complained of exploitation and poor inflight services.
The airline originally made the change to the baggage allowance in August last year, but the 30kg limit was reinstated in January after an outcry from the Indian community.
But three months ago the airline slashed it again to 20kg and began charging Dh10 per kilo with Dh40 service charge. After 30kg, passengers must pay Dh60 per kilo. The airline’s 7kg free carry-on baggage allowance has remained unchanged.
“It’s basically a ploy to exploit more money from poor passengers,” said Shibu Varghese, president of Abu Dhabi Malayalee Samajam, a cultural association of Indians.
“When we pay for excess baggage, how is the airline able to carry excess loads even if flights remain fully booked?” Mr Varghese said.
The charges are similar to other airlines budget airlines, he said.
Electrician Mohammed Khalid, who earns Dh1,300 a month, finds it difficult to pay for excess baggage and hopes the previous 30kg allowance will be reinstated.
“I have travelled to Lucknow [capital city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh] from Dubai many times with the flight fully booked and we were allowed to carry 30kg plus seven kilograms free baggage,” Mr Khalid said.
“Actually it’s all a matter of making money.
“What kind of budget airline is this, which lacks any international standards and facilities?”
Amanullah Khan, supervisor at the Air India Express office in Abu Dhabi, said the airline may reintroduce the 30kg allowance during off-peak season.
“Airline policies keep changing. There could be some offer during off season when we allow 30kg a passenger free baggage. But now it’s a policy of the airline to allow only 20kg as free baggage and 7kg one can hand carry,” Mr Khan said.
John P Varghese, former general secretary of India Social and Cultural Centre in Abu Dhabi, said that the airline falls below international standards and the services and quality of food served on boards is substandard.
“Whenever I travel to Trivandrum, capital of the Indian state of Kerala, I don’t eat food served inside because it doesn’t taste good and quality is poor,” Mr Varghese said.
“If you ask for anything twice the flight staff rudely deny you, saying ‘it’s finished we don’t have it’,” he said.
They never inform passengers about delayed or cancelled flights and sometimes the Express has overbooked and people have to return from the airport, he said.
According to the airline’s customer-care centre its aircraft have a seating capacity of 185 passengers but is only able to carry 160 to 165 passenger when 30kg was permitted.
The representative said that after cutting the baggage to 20kg, the airline can now book all the seats on each flight.
anwar@thenational.ae