[A320FAN]

Originally Posted by stonecold_1981

This is a very well written complaint and you make some good points about the behavior of SpiceJet staff (e.g. lying and deceit). However, as many in the US would say - you are SOL on this one.

A few things to note here:
1. Never Never Never buy two separate tickets to fly from point A to point B (and connect via point C, D, etc.). When you buy one ticket, the contract explicitly states that the airline's responsibility is to take you from point A to point B (it does NOT guarantee that the flight will land on time). In your case, Spirit could have still taken you from Goa to Chennai (albeit delayed). The flight from Chennai to Bangkok is treated separate. Hence, Spirit is NOT liable to refund the costs you had to bear due to the delay. Nor are they liable to refund costs of the 2nd flight.

2. I'm assuming the second flight was on another airline as Spirit doesnt fly to Bangkok? In that case, the airline is not responsible to re-book or change your Bangkok flight.

3. Indian airports have very strict security rules (at least on paper) and so guards will NOT allow you to enter the terminal building without a proper ticket. In your case, you planned to go to check-in/ticketing and buy a ticket from there (as suggested to you by the Spirit staff). Definitely the staff's mistake. They should have known better and told you about it, but again, they are NOT responsible for this (purely from a legal standpoint).

4. For future reference, always buy a ticket (even if it's on the phone) and then head to the airport. Never get to an airport thinking you will get flights since it's a major hub. If I were you, I would have made sure I have a connecting onward ticket from Mumbai before accepting the Goa-Mumbai flight ticket. Again, since Spirit doesnt fly to Bangkok, you should have contacted another airline and bought the ticket.

Some of these rules are completely unfair for the passenger (e.g. if you are delayed and fail to make it to the gate on time you miss the flight, BUT if the airline delays you don't get anything). Airline staff could also be better and more helpful of the passengers (e.g. start by providing the right information or just say "I dont know", etc.). However, in end game, nothing that Spirit did was illegal! From your perspective, you could have avoided all this mess by buying a single ticket from Goa to Bangkok. Alternatively, if you HAD to stopover in Chennai, you should have spaced at least one day between the two flights to factor in delays. Unfortunately, that's how this messed up world of airlines works now a days!

I di dnot know Spirit had acquired widebodied jets with sufficent range to fly from the United States to India