SpiceJet

We were flying to Trivandrum from Chennai. The journey takes about one hour fifteen minutes. The flight was announced and we boarded at 6.30 pm and were supposed to take off at 7 pm. No announcement till 7.15 pm. When passengers approached the cabin crew they did not know what was happening. The flight crew was arguing with the ground staff. There was nothing to eat or drink. The pilot announced that there will be some refreshments but nothing came. Finally after an hour and half the flight took off. We reached Trivandrum around 9.30 pm. The experience was awful. If there was an issue the airlines should have delayed the flight instead of boarding passengers and make them wait on the Tarmac without any option of cancelling the journey or even getting refreshments. We never did the mistake of taking a Spicejet flight again.

This is a low fare airlines that appeals to many budget minded travelers. However the airlines baggage policy is completely out of line with the international standards. For example most international carriers offers checked-in luggage up to 23 Kg while SpiceJet is only 20 Kg. The carry-in is limited to 7 Kg only. When you check in your luggage after arriving from overseas journey SpiceJet charges 200 Rupees per Kg an extraordinarily high rate. Checking-in Staff are eager to charge and seldom give a consideration to a traveler's appeal. One feels trapped as there is no option. My advice to SpiceJet increase the weight limit to 23 Kg and institute a flat fee in Indian Rupees equivalent to $25 dollars for an extra piece of checked-in luggage not the 200 Rupees per Kg rate. My advice to international travelers do not expect any concession from ground staff; most of them are trigger-happy to charge fees for extra weight.

On time departure from BLR and 30 mins early into Kolkata. Relatively old aircraft but well maintained. Quality of food served was good.

DEL-KTM-DEL on a relatively old B737-800. Nothing much is expected from a LCC but the worst part was the leg room and space. As we were travelling with our 6 month old child we barely moved for the entire 1.5 hrs flight due to limited space. Barring this everything else went fine. FA were courteous and helpful.

BLR-DEL. Smooth check in friendly ground crew. We were flying their 737-900 aircraft. Poor seat pitch. I'm 5'11 and my knees kept knocking the seat in front. Agreed Economy airlines offer bad legroom but this was hopeless. Luckily I was the only person in my row and could get some extra room by reclining the middle seat. Food is not free as with most budget carriers rates are good.

SpiceJet from Hyderabad-Delhi. My sister had booked a ticket for me using an international credit card but when she realised the ticket should be booked using Indian credit card if the ticket owner is not travelling she managed to get an Indian credit card from her friend and called customer care of SpiceJet and made the payment using the Indian credit card. When I reached check-in I was told I can't board the flight because payment had been made using a credit card of someone else. They didn't listen to me we had checked 4-5 times with the airline when making the payment that this would be okay. I was harassed by the staff and they asked me to pay the money in cash. Finally they took cash and asked me to sign a declaration and only then could I board the flight. When I reached home and called their customer care they just said sorry it's our system's fault.

Pune to Delhi return. The outbound was delayed and so my 11am departure became a 3pm departure. They kept messaging us the delayed time but does not help when you have appointments you are missing. The ground staff in Pune had no empathy and we got not even a hint of an apology for the delay. Cabin crew nicer - friendly attitude and good service. Return delayed as well by one hour. Check in staff in Delhi no better. The only reason I would not recommend this airline is that every flight on both days seemed to be running late.

Jaipur to Kochi via Mumbai. Clean aircraft friendly crew a bottle of water free small offering of food an drinks to a fair price. I was surprised of the product quality. The new domestic terminal in Mumbai is clean and has quiet corners to relax.

Delhi-Kolkata return on 737-800. The check-in at Delhi was fast and staff polite and helpful. The departure was on time and plane was spotless. Seats were allocated there were no charges for checked luggage and a bottle of water was given to each passenger. In row 11 the seat pitch was fairly tight but only a problem when the person in front reclined her seat. Check- in at Kolkata was OK but travellers should be aware that you go to have all your luggage scanned before going to the check-in desks.

BLR-DEL-BLR because their price was very attractive. The meal price is reasonable and meal was good. Seats okay service fine. The return flight was delayed for an hour however the crew was apologetic.