New Delhi: A day after the media carried reports about ranking of airlines, conducted by a EU-based claim processing agency AirHelp, Indian budget airline IndiGo refuted the findings and questioned its methodology and credibility of the survey.
In the AirHelp score report 2024, IndiGo has been placed at 103rd position among 109 global airlines ranked on various parameters. Two Indian airlines–Air India and AirAsia–have been ranked 61st and 94th respectively in the survey reports.
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IndiGo, India’s low cost carrier, while refusing the ranking, claimed that India’s aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), publishes data on airline punctuality and customer complaints monthly. 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 airline, in a statement said, that the data published in the survey by AirHelp did not disclose the sample size from India, and nor did it take into account the methodology or compensation guidelines used by the global aviation industry – casting a doubt on its credibility.
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“The airline stands for its promise of being on-time, affordable, courteous and offering a hassle-free travel experience for its customers,” said the aviation major, while citing the DGCA data to buttress its points.
As per the DGCA data, during the nine-month period (January-September), budget carrier IndiGo carried more than 7.25 crore passengers, clocking a market share of 61.3% followed by Tata Group-run Air India flying over 1.64 crore passengers with 13.9% share. With its fleet of more than 380 aircraft, the airline is operating around 2,100 daily flights and connecting over 85 domestic destinations and more than 30 international destinations.
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In its annual report, AirHelp is said to have published the ranking on the basis of airlines’ activities from January to October this year. Factors such as global customer claims, on-time performance, and feedback from travellers across 54 countries – assessing aspects like food quality, seating comfort, and crew service -were counted while ranking the airlines.
AirHelp Chief executive officer (CEO) Tomasz Pawliszyn, who explained that the rankings aim to “encourage airlines to continuously listen to passenger feedback,” providing a snapshot of airline performance.
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Brussels Airlines topped the list with a score of 8.12, followed by Qatar Airways (8.11) and United Airlines (8.04). Air India, the only other Indian airline ranked, placed 61st with a score of 6.15. Tunisair has been ranked at last on 109th position, as the report highlighted the highs and lows of air travel this year.
