How we are conditioned to settle for less during a crisis

Just last week, we discussed how insurance usually enters our thoughts only when a crisis strikes. Looking back, the past few months have felt like one long chain of crises, from cashless claims being suspended to a threatening series of cyclones.

The recent mass cancellation of IndiGo flights is a stark example. Careers, weddings, official meetings — so many important moments were affected, seemingly because of one company’s poor planning, whatever the reason may be.

My own experience was no different. A flight booked for a class reunion was cancelled, forcing me to scramble for an alternative option. I eventually reached my destination 16 hours late — long past midnight.

While the reunion itself was wonderful, the onward business trip I had planned for the next day collapsed because there were no alternate flights available once the airline cancelled.

But frustration isn’t always limited to large crises; even routine situations can leave you feeling powerless. Recently, I booked a ticket but needed to change my travel date. Since I had selected a “no cancellation fee” option, I assumed I could simply cancel and rebook. Instead, I received only a small fraction of the fare as a refund and was informed that I had to file a claim with the insurance company to get the remainder, and the claim would be paid only if the cancellation was due to very specific reasons – like medical emergencies.

I paid extra for this feature, yet none of these conditions was explained at the time. And honestly, if a cancellation truly is due to a medical emergency, shouldn’t the airline, out of basic fairness, offer a refund or rebooking without involving insurance?

The bottom line: the fine print taketh away.

Public communication from the airline during this crisis was slow, reactive, and often tone-deaf. While there was a great deal of talk about “full refunds”, many travellers, myself included, still lost at least ₹1,000 per cancelled ticket.

Tax justification

The justification was that taxes had already been passed on to the government and, therefore, could not be refunded. Anyone familiar with GST processes knows this is not necessarily true — remittance isn’t instantaneous, and wrongly collected tax can be adjusted in subsequent filings.

Meanwhile, what about the real losses? Exorbitantly priced alternate flights, last-minute hotel bookings, missed onward flights and other travel bookings, lost business opportunities and job interviews, postponed milestone family events, and the stress endured by children, elderly passengers, and people with special needs. These inconveniences are not minor, and they deserve transparent and automatic — not patronising — compensation frameworks.

And one final irritation: airlines routinely deduct “convenience fees” during refunds — essentially charging us for booking tickets ourselves online. How convenient!

(The writer is a business journalist specialising in insurance & corporate history)