Air India downgraded me to economy class, shockingly gave my seat to pilots: Passenger shares 'horrible experience'

An Air India passenger, Nilesh Bansal, has alleged that he and his four-year-old son were downgraded from business class to economy class on a recent flight, with their seats reassigned to an airline crew member. Sharing his experience on Meta-owned Threads, Bansal expressed frustration, describing it as a "horrible experience" and raising concerns about the airline's priorities.

Air India Kept me Waiting for 90 minutes

Bansal stated that he and his son were kept waiting for over 90 minutes despite repeated assurances from Air India staff that seats were available. He claimed that their business class seats were ultimately allocated to an Air India pilot. Adding to his grievances, Bansal noted that his son’s stroller was left behind in Delhi, compounding the family’s difficulties.

In his post, Bansal wrote, “Today Air India flight AI-2055 downgraded me to economy class, but what shocked me was my seats were allocated to Air India crew and while they kept me and [my] 4 yr old kid waiting for more 1.5 hrs even after telling me that seats are available. Their pilots are more important for them than the customer who has actually paid for that seat. They even left my son’s stroller back in Delhi. Horrible experience Air India. Shameful.”

Airline policies and public reactions

The incident has sparked a wider discussion about passenger rights and airline policies. Some commentators pointed out that airlines are legally required to provide business class seats to pilots for rest during duty transitions. “Pilots are more important because they would need rest to do the next sector,” one user wrote. Another added, “They are contractually obliged to fly their pilots business class. I am not saying what happened to you was right but the pilots are worth way more to them than an individual customer.”

However, other users criticized the airline for not planning ahead. “To all those saying pilots deserve rest, I agree… so why sell the seats? Don’t they know their pilot schedules in advance and reserve their seats in advance?” a user questioned.