Aniket PujariOnline payments platform Paytm’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Vijay Shekhar Sharma, in a social media X post on Tuesday, March 11, flagged that airline travellers should be able to identify which aircraft they will be boarding to select their preferred seats before booking.
Tagging the official social media X handle of Tata-owned Air India in the post, Vijay Shekhar Sharma said that he booked his Air India “long flight,” assuming that it would have the new aircraft (Airbus 350) with new seats.
However, the photo shared on the social media platform showed that it was an aircraft from the full-service carrier’s older fleet.
“Hello @airindia, There should be a way to identify this aircraft type at the time of booking. Had assumed of those new aircraft/ seats and now in this one, for a super long flight,” said Vijay Shekhar Sharma in his post on platform X.
Air India’s response
Responding to Paytm’s CEO concerns, the Tata-owned carrier highlighted that travellers get an option to see the details of a particular aircraft while booking their journey, which helps them to see whether or not it’s the particular aircraft they desire to travel in.
“Dear Mr. Sharma, we understand how important it is to have a comfortable journey, especially on long flights. While booking, you can see the aircraft type listed in the flight details section. Please feel free to reach out if you need further assistance,” said Air India, responding to Sharma’s post on the platform X.
Netizens React
People on the social media platform X questioned Vijay Shekhar Sharma whether or not he checked the details of the flight before booking the airline ahead of his travel, while others highlighted the need for Air India to upgrade its older cabins to newer ones.
“But did you try to find out while booking? No You just assumed Sir and now complaining. Not fair,” said a social media user named Ace Maker responding to Sharma’s post.
A few people also highlighted a hack which they may have found useful, like a user named Nishchay said, “If the selected flight has premium economy, then it’s a new else old..”
A few people also highlighted that apart from the official website booking, travel booking portals like MakeMyTrip also provide airline details to travellers before they confirm their tickets.
“It’s easy . Only A350 have lie flat seats . They show both the aircraft configuration and whether it’s standard recliner or lie flat during booking exp. I book through @makemytrip. it’s another thing if they change aircraft last minute . Has happened to me,” said a social media user named Tim responding to Sharma’s post.
