IndiGo irked by “one of the worst airlines” tag

India's largest airline, IndiGo, has the world's fifth-most valuable market capitalization. However, Germany-headquartered passenger rights group AirHelp Inc. ranked it among the worst airlines globally. The surveyor ranked 109 airlines for their punctuality, customer opinion, and claim processing based on data collected between 1 January and 31 October 2024. Tunisair repeated its 2023 performance this year, once again ranking as the worst airline with a score of 3.63 at 109, while IndiGo was ranked at 103 with a total score of 4.80. The best airlines in the world included Brussels Airlines, which scored 8.12, followed by Qatar Airways, United Airlines, and American Airlines, among others. Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO of AirHelp, said, “The 2024 AirHelp Score for airlines is designed to act as a snapshot of airline performance, evaluating each airline's strengths and areas for improvement. There is always scope for airlines to improve in the rankings each year, using the score to help guide them. At AirHelp, we support passengers in understanding their air travel rights and help them receive the compensation they may be entitled to. ” Following this report, IndiGo trended on social media in India, “sparking a debate on its service quality,” as X’s AI-enabled chatbot Grok put it. “Defenders of IndiGo argue that the airline offers superior service compared to many international carriers, particularly American ones, and highlight its operational efficiency and connectivity within India. Critics, however, point out deficiencies in ground staff service and overall customer care,” Grok summarized the dozens of opinions posted on X. The rankings could not have come at a worse time for the budget airline that started its services in 2006. After flying on a low-cost model using all-economy seats, the 390-plane airline debuted business class seats on its domestic flights for the first time last month. It hopes to expand its business class service as it inducts Airbus A321XLRs next year and Airbus A350s in 2027, challenging Air India’s core customer base. Europe and the US will likely be the key markets for IndiGo's use of such planes. The airline issued a statement late afternoon questioning the survey. India’s aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), publishes data on airline punctuality and customer complaints monthly. The airline pointed out, "IndiGo has consistently scored high on punctuality and has the lowest customer complaint ratio for an airline of its size and scale of operations." The data published in the survey by AirHelp, an EU claim processing agency, does not report the sample size from India, and neither takes into account the methodology or compensation guidelines used by the global aviation industry – casting doubt on its credibility, it said. "IndiGo refutes the findings of this survey and reiterates its promise of on-time, affordable, courteous and hassle-free travel experience for its customers," it concluded. IndiGo, which controls over 60% of the domestic Indian market, has nearly 900 Airbus planes on order and is valued at around $21 billion.

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