Maharashtra Court Fines Airline Rs 15,000 For Misleading Passengers Over Premium Seat Charges
Maharashtra State Consumer Commission has upheld a penalty against an airline for misleading passengers into paying extra for pre-booked seats that were otherwise available free of cost. The verdict, delivered on September 25, 2025, strengthens the case for greater transparency in airline pricing and passenger communication.
The case was filed by a Navi Mumbai couple who had booked tickets from Mumbai to New York via Dubai in August 2017. Owing to health concerns, they sought adjacent seats but were told by the airline that such seats could not be guaranteed unless pre-booked through paid web check-in. Acting on this advice, they paid ₹7,200 to reserve their seats.However, on reaching the airport, the couple discovered that several passengers had been allotted seats at no additional charge. The District Consumer Commission had earlier ruled that the airline’s actions amounted to misleading conduct and ordered a refund of ₹7,200 with 6% annual interest, alongside ₹5,000 in compensation for mental agony and ₹3,000 towards legal expenses. The State Commission has now upheld this order in full.
In its observation, the Commission stated that the airline had “failed to provide adequate information about the availability of free seats”, effectively keeping passengers “in the dark.” The bench held that while the couple was not directly coerced into pre-booking, they were “impliedly forced” through a lack of transparency in the communication process.Legal experts have described the ruling as a significant warning against “dark patterns” subtle design or communication tactics that manipulate consumers into paying for optional services. By not disclosing that free seats could be assigned later, the airline was found to have violated the principles of fair disclosure and informed consent.
An aviation industry observer noted that the case could have broader implications for airline transparency across India. “Airlines often market add-on services like seat selection or priority boarding without full disclosure of free alternatives. This judgment reinforces the consumer’s right to clear, upfront information,” the expert said.The verdict aligns with ongoing discussions in India’s consumer policy framework about curbing misleading digital practices. Regulators are increasingly focusing on ethical digital commerce, particularly where user interfaces and algorithms are used to nudge consumers toward paid options.As India’s aviation sector grows rapidly, the ruling underscores the need for ethical transparency and passenger-first practices, ensuring that convenience-driven upgrades remain genuinely optional not coerced through information asymmetry.
