Airline told to pay for lost baggage

NEW DELHI: Six years after Major Ashwani Sindhwani had a nightmare experience trying to locate his lost baggage - after he landed in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and fighting a long legal battle - he won a compensation of $700 from Ethiopian Airlines.
Sindhwani was also awarded a refund of Rs 7,500, together with an interest rate of 9 per cent till date, and Rs 10,000 as costs by the consumer court.
On 22 December, 1996, Sindhwani travelled from Delhi to Abidjan via Dubai and Adis Abbaba on Ethiopian Airlines.
He reportedly checked in four pieces of baggage and even paid Rs 30,000 as extra baggage charges.
But, on reaching Abidjan, he found one piece of baggage, weighing 35 kg, missing. Sindhwani lodged a report for the missing baggage with the airlines.
However, despite repeated requests and reminders, there was no help forthcoming.
Finally, he turned to the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (New Delhi) and demanded Rs 50,000 as compensation and full a refund of the excess baggage charges that he paid to the airlines.
Replying to the notice, the airlines submitted that despite its best efforts the missing piece of baggage could not be located and that as per the contract and rules governing the liability, Sindhwani was entitled to US dollars 700.
That is US dollars 20 for each kg that was lost. They, however, declined to pay back the excess baggage charges paid by Sindhwani.
After going through the contentions of the two parties, the judges - L C Jain, R Narayana and Janak Juneja - ruled that the airlines was "liable for deficiency of service by not handing over the baggage of the complainant and when not finding it by not making the payment of US dollars 700 for his lost baggage."
They, however, said Sindhwani was not entitled to the full compensation of the excess baggage charges as he had not disclosed the weight for which he had paid the amount.
In that case, the judges told the airline to pay him one-fourth of the amount - that is Rs 7,500 - paid by him for four pieces of baggage.