Soumya Swaminathan slams Air India for ‘terrible experience’ after seat upgrade issue; airline reacts

Former Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Dr Soumya Swaminathan, took to social media to publicly criticise Air India after she was denied a seat upgrade on her flight from Nairobi to Delhi. The 65-year-old, former chief scientist of the World Health Organization, expressed frustration over the airline’s handling of the situation despite her being a frequent flyer and a member of the airline’s Maharaja Club loyalty programme.

“Terrible experience with Air India,” wrote Swaminathan on X. “Despite being a loyal member, enough mileage & hours online & on phone – dead end.” She claimed that all her efforts to upgrade her seat led nowhere and that the airline offered “illogical” reasons for the denial. “Why should the customer suffer your irrationality?” she asked in her post.

Air India responded to her complaint on the platform, asking her to share her Maharaja Club ID. The Maharaja Club is the airline’s loyalty programme offering frequent flyers benefits such as seat upgrades, award tickets, and priority check-ins, both on Air India and its Star Alliance partners.

Swaminathan’s complaint resonated with several users online, many of whom shared their own grievances with the airline. One user blamed poor IT services, especially after the merger of Air India and Vistara, calling it chaotic and unacknowledged by the airline. Another user commented, “Same statement saying DM with your problem. Nothing happens when you DM.” Others echoed complaints about declining cleanliness and service, urging the airline to become more customer-focused.

While Air India has made efforts to revamp its image and operations under the Tata Group, customer dissatisfaction over service inconsistencies, especially with regard to loyalty perks and basic amenities, remains a challenge.

Dr Swaminathan’s post has reignited conversations around Air India’s customer service standards and raised questions about how effectively the airline is handling loyalty programmes and tech-related issues post-merger. Whether the airline will take concrete steps in response to these recurring complaints is yet to be seen.