A passenger who booked a codeshare flight on Air India’s website is now stuck in refund limbo, raising fresh questions about the airline’s opaque and often inconsistent handling of cancellations.
The traveler booked a September journey that combined a domestic leg on Air India Express and an international leg on Air India. Within an hour of booking, they discovered a list of baffling and inconvenient policies: no cabin baggage allowance on the domestic leg, a requirement to recheck luggage manually at Bengaluru for a domestic-to-international transfer, and no web check-in option.
Even basic questions about boarding passes and transit procedures at BLR were met with vague answers from customer support.
Understandably worried about a tight 1 hour 55 minute layover during monsoon season, the passenger chose to cancel the booking immediately. Air India’s support team verbally agreed and said a cancellation confirmation would follow. That was the last they heard. No refund email. No communication. Only the PNR now shows “Cancelled,” with no refund details.
While the passenger believed they were protected under the DGCA’s 24-hour cancellation rule, another user pointed out that this may not apply to international flights. Instead, Air India reportedly has its own vague “4-hour cancellation” policy, which the airline does not clearly communicate anywhere.
This lack of transparency, combined with poor coordination between Air India and Air India Express, has left many passengers stranded in uncertainty. For a national carrier trying to regain trust, such lapses only reinforce its reputation for unreliability and weak customer support. Refunds should not require detective work.
