Air Passengers Association of India Opens Mumbai Office

Air Passengers Association of India (APAI) recently inaugurated its Mumbai office as part of its plans to go national. The Chennai-based body is aimed at providing service to the Indian air passengers both at the macro and the individual level. APAI is the interface between the passengers and airlines (including foreign airlines) and all regulatory authorities in India. The aim of the Association is to file complaints, make representations, create public opinion and to take legal action to protect and promote the interest of members of the public using air as a mode of transport. They also run educational and training programmes to make air travellers aware of their rights and strengths. The relatively low profile Association has a current member base of 10,000 and has a full fledged national executive committee covering five regions (North, South, Central, East, and West) of the country. APAI has three different kinds of membership-Corporate Life Membership, Individual Life Membership and Individual Annual Membership. The Corporate Life Membership fee is Rs 20,000 and is given to corporate houses who can nominate five of its executives/directors as members. Individual Life Membership fee is a one-time payment of Rs 2,500 while the Annual Individual Membership is Rs 500. This no-profit organisation also launched its web site www.air-passenger.com end of January this year. The website offers latest aviation news, besides acting as a forum for air passengers for registering complaints and for exchanging views. APAI will soon add other travel information, discounts, services, tips on which airline to choose anything and everything to do with flying in commercial space.