The Hindu : MAS to pay TV cost for `deficiency in service'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 03, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

MAS to pay TV cost for `deficiency in service'

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI APRIL 2. The Malaysian Airline System has been directed to pay Rs. 62,500 to a passenger, who could not bring his 34-inch colour television set from Singapore to Chennai for `deficiency in service' on its part.

"The airline had not taken sincere and serious steps to hand over the set to the complainant here, and he had to leave it in the `left luggage area' in the Singapore airport", said the Chennai (South) District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum.

Thomas George, his wife and three children, travelled to Singapore-Malaysia under a special package on April 21, 1999. In Singapore, they purchased the television set, after ascertaining from the airline's local office that it could be checked in. Though they were to leave Singapore by a night flight on April 30, the complainants were asked to board an earlier service for `operational reasons'.

When the complainants were about to proceed to the security area, they were informed that the television set could not be taken into the hold of the aircraft. The complainants had no option but to abandon it in the `left baggage area'. When they complained that they had, as a result, lost the free baggage allowance, the airline official asked them to pay Rs. 4,000 towards freight charge for flying the television set to Chennai. He sought a compensation of Rs. 4.91 lakhs.

The airline maintained that under baggage safety regulations, no single piece of check-in baggage could weigh beyond 30 kg, whereas the television set weighed about 96 kg. Despite its `gesture' to fly it at a concessional rate of Rs. 4,000 the complainant was intent on initiating litigation for a `malicious claim'.

However, ruling that the airline was liable to pay the cost of the television set as compensation, a bench, comprising the president K. Kengasubbiah, and the members V. Sheeba and J. Kadirvel, also awarded Rs. 1,000 towards costs. The compensation should be paid within two months at 12 per cent interest from April 30, 1999.

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