Customer Service Plan For flights from/to the U.S.A.

The following information explains our specific customer service commitments in a clear and concise fashion, conveying our assurance of a consistently high level of service when traveling on Air India.

1. Offer the lowest available fare

Air India will offer the lowest applicable fare for which you are eligible at the time of booking for the flight, date and class of service requested through our telephone reservation system, at a city ticket offices and at our airport ticket counters, except that lower internet only fares may be available on our website.

Our toll-free number in the USA is 1-800-223-7776.

2. Notify customers of known delays, cancellations and diversions

At times weather, air traffic control, operational or service considerations may lead to flight delays, cancellations or diversions. When this happens we will notify customers within 30 minutes of our becoming aware of such a change in flight status.

3. Deliver baggage on time

We will endeavor to deliver your baggage on time. However, if your checked bags are delayed or misplaced, we will make every reasonable effort to deliver them within 24 hours. Delivery may take slightly longer if your travel involves another airline.

If you have expenses because of baggage delay and are eligible to receive compensation, we will compensate you for reasonable and necessary out-of-pocket expenses in accordance with applicable international agreements.

4. Allow reservations to be cancelled for a certain period after purchase

When you book and ticket a reservation through Air India Reservations, through our website, at a city ticket office, or at an airport ticket office more than 7 days prior to departure, we will allow you to cancel the reservation without penalty and receive a 100% refund if you cancel the reservation within 24 hours of purchase.

5. Provide prompt ticket refunds

We will provide prompt refunds for eligible tickets once we receive your refund request accompanied by any required documentation. To get a refund on a ticket you have paid for but not used, present your ticket or your electronic ticket reference number at your local Air India office. If your ticket was bought online, the refund will be credited to the card used to make the purchase. You may make a refund request for your online eâ€Ticket booking through ecommerce@airindia.inwith the subject line to read as USD REFUNDS. Refunds requests for E-tickets purchased in the U.S.A. may be sent to refunds@airindiausa.com or presented to one of our city ticket offices. All refunds are issued in accordance with fare conditions.

If you used a credit card to make your purchase we will submit the request for a refund to the credit card issuer within seven business days of receiving your completed request for refund. The credit card issuer will refund the purchase price under the terms of the credit card agreement; your credit card statement may not immediately reflect the refund. For purchases made by cash, check or other forms of payment, we will issue your refund within 20 business days of receipt of your completed request for refund.

Please ensure that you have cancelled your reservation before requesting a refund to avoid any associated no-show penalty, and include the following information in your refund request:

Passenger Name(s)
Full mailing address
Telephone Contact and/or email address where you can be reached
Ticket Number
Credit Card Number used to purchase the ticket
Fight number and date of travel.

6. Properly accommodate passengers with disabilities and other special needs Customers with disabilities

Passengers with disabilities can anticipate a safe and comfortable journey on Air India. To best assist disabled customers, we recommend that you notify us at the time of booking, or at least 48 hours prior to your flight, of any special assistance you would like us to provide before, during, or after your flight. Our employees are trained to support the commitment to our customers with special needs.

During lengthy tarmac delays, our employees will make every effort to properly accommodate customers with disabilities or special needs. See our Tarmac Delay Contingency Plan.

If your journey includes flights operated by another airline, please check directly with that carrier for any special travel needs as different policies and procedures may apply.

Requirements for minors who travel without an adult

It is always a pleasure to welcome children on an Air India flight. For their well being, and that of the child’s parents, we have specific rules governing when a minor passenger can travel alone, and when an adult must accompany the minor.

Children under the age of 5 are not permitted to travel alone and must be accompanied by a ticketed adult passenger on all flights.
Children aged 5 through 11 may travel without an adult but are required to use our Unaccompanied Minor service and must pay the full adult fare. In addition, an Unaccompanied Minor Form (available from the “Downloads” link on our website Home Page) should be submitted to the boarding station at least 3 days prior to the planned date of travel.
Air India permits children aged 12 and above to travel alone.

Please note Unaccompanied Minors cannot be accepted for journeys involving en-route overnight stays.

7. Meet customers’ essential needs during lengthy tarmac delays

We are committed to operating a reliable schedule for our customers. Safety considerations, weather, air traffic control, operations and other factors may occasionally cause lengthy tarmac delays. We have plans and processes in place to minimize such delays. Should a lengthy tarmac delay occur, and if safety and security considerations permit, we will make every reasonable effort to ensure that your essential needs are met through providing food and drinking water at specific intervals; restroom facilities; and adequate medical assistance. See Air India’s Tarmac Delay Contingency Plan.

8. Treat passengers fairly and consistently in the case of oversales

Airline flights may be occasionally be overbooked, and there is a slight chance that a seat will not be available on a flight for which you hold a confirmed reservation.

If your flight is oversold, you will not be denied a seat until we first ask for volunteers willing to give up their confirmed seats in exchange for compensation (in an amount determined by Air India) and travel on a later, specified flight. If there are not enough volunteers, we will deny boarding to passengers in accordance with our boarding priority policy. If you are involuntarily denied boarding and have complied with our checkâ€in and other applicable rules, we will give you a written statement describing your rights and explaining how we determine boarding priority for an oversold flight.

Our rules for the payment of compensation, as well as our boarding priority policy, are available at each of the U.S. airports that we serve.

9. Disclose travel itinerary, cancellation policies, frequent flyer rules and aircraft configuration

We will give you clear information about policies and services that may be important to you on our website and, when you ask, through our telephone reservations staff and our airport staff, including out:

Aircraft configuration and lavatory availability;
The important terms and conditions that apply to your ticket and travel, including cancellation and refund policies; and
Any scheduled change of aircraft on a single flight with the same flight number.

We also make information about our Flying Returns frequent flyer program available on our website and in materials provided upon enrollment and in updates to Flying Returns members.

10. Ensure responsiveness to customer complaints

Information about where to direct your written complaint is on our website under “Contact Us”, and is available upon request at the airports we serve. We will acknowledge written complaints within 30 days of receipt and we will send a substantive response within 60 days of receiving your written complaint.

11. Provide services to mitigate inconveniences resulting from cancellations and misconnections.

In order to reduce any inconvenience you experience during cancellations and misconnections, we will:

Do our best to contact you in advance regarding a flight cancellation using the contact information in your reservation record;
Work to confirm you on the next flight we operate that has seats available in the same class of service when rebooking is necessary; and
Provide refreshments and hotel accommodations, if available, due to any long delay, misconnect or cancellation within Air India’s control that requires an overnight stay while you are away from home or destination.

Welcome Aboard.