Air hostess institute told to pay Rs 1.64L after teacher says student cannot be cabin crew

As per the complainant, after she attended the classes for a one month, a teacher, one day, saw a burn scar on her right wrist and told her that with that scar she cannot be selected for the post of an air hostess and will not benefit from the said course.

Accordingly the complainant requested the institute to refund the fee but they told her that they cannot refund the same to her directly as it can only be refunded with the permission of Frankfinn Aviation Services Private Limited at Delhi.

The complainant made several requests for refund and also sent a legal notice which was replied to by them but nothing fruitful came out. She then filed a formal complaint with the commission.

Frankfinn and its institute in their reply submitted that the complainant executed a fully legally valid contract which is an online student agreement out of her own free will, after fully understanding and accepting the terms and conditions binding on both the parties.

Also it was submitted that the agreement eligibility information for airlines cabin crew aspirants has been provided wherein it has been clearly mentioned that there should not be any scar and/or scar on the face/ forearm/ neck/ legs (part of theuncovered area) for cabin crew jobs in airlines.

One is advised to consult skin specialist if they have mark(s) in the body areas as mentioned here above and take treatment for the same, it was stated.

Thus, the complainant was fully aware at the time of taking admission that she was not eligible for a cabin crew job but was eligible for a ground staff job. It was also said that she did not meet the minimum requirement for cabin crews and she was also aware about the non-refund clause.

The commission after hearing the matter observed that, “the coaching institution should not act like money collection machine without keeping in mind the feelings and future of the prospects of the student. The student may not be comfortable with the teaching method/skills and attitude of teachers.

In case the student leaves in between, they should not be denied refund of the fee for remaining period. If the student is given refund, they can pay the amount to some other educational institute, where they want to pursue education. The student is not supposed to pay another hefty amount
to other coaching institute after leaving the previous institution.

Parent may not be in a position to afford heavy fee of another coaching institute and the student will be deprived of precious oportunity and formative years of career building.

In case the fee is refunded, the student can further move on with that amount to explore much better avenues of education as per his/her desire”.

The commission thus ordered Frankfinn Aviation Services Private Limited and its institute, to pay Rs 1.54 lakh (after deducting Rs 10,000 as administrative charges) to the complainant, and to pay Rs 10,000 to the complainant as compensation and Rs 10,000 as costs of litigation.