Jet Airways came out with a clarification to complaints by Bollywood actress Preity Zinta that the carrier's negligence resulted in her missing her flight on Wednesday. While Zinta vowed never to fly on Jet Airways, the company said she missed her flight due to her own compulsions.
The carrier did not directly refer to Zinta in its response to the controversy, but chose to use the term "a passenger". The reference to the ticket number is available to draw an inference that Jet Airways was clarifying its position to Zinta's tweets complaining of poor passenger service.
"A guest (passenger) waiting in lounge to board 9W 305 would not board the flight as she was awaiting a parcel to arrive for her at the airport. Airline staff met her a few times requesting her to board as it was nearing flight closure time," a Jet spokesperson told International Business Times, India.
"Unfortunately, the guest decided to wait for the parcel to arrive. The airline offloaded the guest's check-in bag and offered her an alternative flight, which was declined," the spokesperson added.
Earlier, Zinta had tweeted on Wednesday that she missed her Mumbai-Delhi flight after the carrier failed to inform her to board in time.
JetAirways makesU wait4 1.5hours in the lounge as they are delayed then off load U cuz their staff forgets to tell u in time they R boarding pic.twitter.com/6FtQskLef6
— Preity zinta (@realpreityzinta) October 19, 2016
Thank You #JetAirways 4always being late, 4making me miss my flight today & making ur strongest supporter never wanting to fly with U again
— Preity zinta (@realpreityzinta) October 19, 2016
Jet Airways is the second-largest carrier in terms of market share in India's fast-growing domestic passenger business, at about 16 per cent, while the leader is Indigo with a share of about 40 per cent, according to regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Jet Airways carried 13.32 lakh passengers in September, marginally lower than 13.70 lakh in the preceding month, according to the regulator's data.
Incidentally, the carrier, along with subsidiary JetLife, topped the list of complaints under the "denied boarding" category, at 515 complaints out of a total of 680 in September.
Jet Airways shares were trading at Rs 481 apiece at around 1.23 pm on the BSE on Friday, up 3.21 per cent from their previous close.
