"Krone" ombudswoman

Missed out on dream hotel: Two years waiting for money

Karl U. and his wife wanted to stay at the famous Taj Lake Palace Hotel in India. The hotel had also been a filming location for a James Bond movie.

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian)

A Styrian couple had planned a round trip through India for a long time. They also wanted to stay in a famous five-star hotel. But nothing came of it, which was down to the airline.  

The trip was booked for April 2023, mainly to spend a night at the famous Taj Lake Palace Hotel in the middle of Lake Pichola. Cost: 1000 euros! The former palace is now a five-star hotel and has already been the setting for a James Bond film.

Electricity prevented the start
The trip was due to start on April 20. The flight from Austria to Frankfurt went according to plan. Then the chaos began. The plane to India was due to take off at 9.15 pm. Nothing came of it. Problems with the electrical system prevented take-off.

Chaos during rebooking
"After hours of waiting on the plane, we had to get off and were taken to a hotel after midnight," recalls our reader. The confusion continued the next day. "At midday, we were taken back to the airport without any information about where exactly we were supposed to go," says Mr. U. The passengers were sent from one terminal to another several times.

In the evening, it was finally decided that Mr. and Mrs. U. would not be able to board a plane to India that day either. So they went back to the hotel. It was not until the following day that the Styrians got two seats on a plane and arrived in Mumbai two days late.

Start of journey two days late
As a result, they missed their stay at their dream hotel. "After our return, I tried to claim damages of more than 5,000 euros," says Mr. U., who contacted the ombudswoman at the time. Our attempt to reach an agreement with the airline was ignored by them. "As no one could even tell me which court had jurisdiction, I finally gave up."

Compensation only came now
Recently, there was a small, surprising turnaround. After almost two years, Air India contacted Mr. U. and transferred 1,200 euros in compensation. After all.