- By Priyanka Koul
- Sun, 25 Jan 2026 04:36 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A passenger had booked a preferred seat but did not receive it when boarding. The passenger criticised Air India for allegedly failing to provide the seat he had chosen. Guru Samy, who had paid extra to secure a preferred seat, claims he was given a different one upon boarding.
In a post on X, Samy explained, “I paid for seat 10A, as I am a kidney transplant recipient and needed to be comfortable.”
Shame on you @airindia
— Guru Samy (@WellSaidGuru) January 25, 2026
I am flying to Bangalore on AI2845
I paid for seat 10A as being a kidney transplant recipient I wanted to be comfortable
But to my surprise I am alloted seat 22B
Firstly I have paid a premium to block a seat and I am shamelessly told that the payment… pic.twitter.com/0aK0ks9aRn
He continued, “Shame on you, @airindia. I’m flying to Bangalore on AI2845, and I paid for seat 10A, as being a kidney transplant recipient, I wanted to be comfortable. But to my surprise, I was allocated seat 22B instead. I paid a premium to reserve my seat, yet I was told the payment wasn’t for that purpose.”
Samy also accused airline staff of placing blame on him for not checking his boarding pass sooner. “Then the staff blamed me for not checking the boarding pass when it was given to me at the counter. They offered a refund, but that’s not the point. If you’re unable to reserve a seat, why charge for it?”
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“This isn’t about a refund. It’s about basic ethics,” he added.
In response, Air India assured Samy that a refund would be arranged. They also clarified the policy regarding emergency exit row seats and confirmed that the appropriate team would be in touch to process the refund.
Dear Sir, we have taken a note of your experience and will look into it. We request you to please refer to the link https://t.co/ir19azbV4R for detailed information on eligibility criteria for emergency exit row seats. Rest, we have added the remarks in the booking for the refund…
— Air India (@airindia) January 25, 2026
“We’ve notified our sales team, who will contact your travel agency to initiate the refund. We hope you have a more comfortable journey ahead,” the airline’s response on social media stated.
Additionally, we have notified our sales team to get in touch with your travel agency for the seat refund. We hope to offer a relaxing journey ahead.
— Air India (@airindia) January 25, 2026
