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NATIONAL CONSUMER DISPUTES
REDRESSAL COMMISSION, NEW DELHI
Honble Mr. Justice V. Balakrishna Eradi, President;
Mr. Justice S.S. Chadha, Dr. (Mrs.) R. Thamarajakshi &
Mr. Justice C.L. Chaudhry, Member
DELTA AIRLINES INC.—Appellant
versus
CONSUMER EDUCATION & RESEARCH SOCIETY &
ANR.—Respondents
Counsel for the Parties :
For the Appellant :Mr. Joseph Vellapalli, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Amir Singh Pasrich, Advocate.
For the Respondents:Mr. D.K. Thakur, Advocate.
The main legal point established is that the appellant owed a duty to provide traveling facilities to the complainant, but there was no negligence on the part of the appellant, and the complainant had not suffered any compensable loss.
Headnote:
Consumer Protection Act - Air Travel Award - Section 2(1)(r), Section 2(1)(o) - 12, 14(1)(d)
Fact of the Case:
The complainant sought compensation from Delta Airlines for failing to honor the Worldpass award, claiming it as a deficiency in service and unfair trade practice under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
Finding of the Court:
The State Commission ruled in favor of the complainant, directing Delta Airlines to pay compensation. The opposite party appealed against this decision.
Issues: The issues included jurisdiction of the Commission, the complainant's entitlement to the tickets, breach of Worldpass program terms, and the absence of Pan Am Airlines in the complaint.
Ratio Decidendi: The court found that the Worldpass tickets and facilities provided were not gratis but included in the cost structure of the tickets, and that the appellant owed a duty to provide traveling facilities to the complainant. However, it also concluded that there was no negligence on the part of the appellant in discharging its obligation and that the complainant had not suffered any compensable loss.
Final Decision: The court allowed the appeal, set aside the order of the State Commission, and dismissed the complaint.
Mr. Justice C.L. Chaudhry, Member—This appeal is directed by the opposite parties against the order dated 12th November, 1993 of the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Gujarat. In order to appreciate the controversy involved it will be expedient to briefly state the facts as follows:
2. Prof. S.L. Bapna, the complainant, claimed from the opposite party. Delta Airlines Inc. Rs. 1,04,250/- by way of cost of two round trip tickets to San Francisco, Rs. 11,475/- in lieu of hotel award, Rs. 8,650/- in lieu of car rental award, Rs. 30,600/- for compensation for the loss of opportunity to deliver lectures and costs of the complaint. Pan Am Airlines floated an advertisement of Worldpass Scheme for air travellers to the effect that if they accumulate Rs. 70,000/- mileage by travelling by Pan Am Airlines they would be awarded two free tickets known as Air Travel Award with hotel award, car rental, etc. Prof. S.L. Bapna became a member of the aforesaid scheme by fulfilling the conditions thereof and on July 20,1989 he was awarded two Pan Am World passes, one for himself and one for companion alongwith hotel accommodation, car, rental, etc. On 27th July, 1992 Pan Am and Delta Airlines entered into an assets purchase agreement whereby the Delta acquired certain assets of Pan Am located in USA and throughout the world including certain assets in Europe. On 12th August, 1991, the USA Bankruptcy Court for Southern District of New York before whom the Pan Am Chapter 11 cases were pending, entered an order authorising Pan Am Shuttle Inc. to sell to Delta Airlines Inc. certain international route authorities and certain other assets.
3. In August/September, 1991, Delta Airlines Inc. after completing the formalities in USA addressed news letters to the Worldpass Members of the Pan Am. The caption was "Important News for Worldpass Members". In that letter it was indicated to the members of the Worldpass Programme that the mileage under the programme was protected as detailed therein. It was also stated in that letter that all the awards for travel on Pan Am would be honoured by Delta on the North Atlantic routes to be purchased by Pan Am under the current Worldpass terms and conditions. The news letter also indicated that those who chose to travel by Delta had to use their Worldpass award before 31.12.1991 since Delta would not honour the award after that date. It was also specified that on November 1, 1991 the Pan Am would become a partner in Delta's Frequent Flyer Programme and Worldpass would be discontinued but it was assured that all the Worldpass mileage holders would be protected as detailed in the letter. It was provided that Worldpass Award requests must be forwarded in writing to Pan Am Worldpass Service Centre and postmarked by October 31, 1991 (allowing 4 weeks for processing).
4. In order to avail of the facilities, complainant No. 2 requested for reservation to Pan Travels, General Sales Agent of Pan Am Airlines in September, 1991. The world travel certificate obtained by him in July for approval from Bombay to Los Angeles and back were requested. The seats were booked for December 6, for the Bombay-California and return journey California-Frankfurt on 17th December, and Frankfurt-Bombay on 23.10.1991. The complainant was informed on 14.11.1991 by M/s. Pan Travels, U.S.A. of Pan Am that Frankfurt-Bombay sector seats were not available for "Ex" Category to which the complainant No. 2 belonged. The complainant by letter dated 15th November, 1991 requested the Delta Airlines either to prepone or to postpone the journey schedule so as to get confirmed tickets and that the complainant No. 2 had no objection in travelling any time within the period whenever the seats were available. It was suggested that the complainant was invited to deliver lecture at California University on 17-19th December, 1991 even then he was willing to travel on the dates whichever were available. It was also suggested that if the booking before 31.1
