Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Why people avoid travelling by AI flights?' that was published in Newsband


Why people avoid travelling by AI flights?
Several passengers have complained of bed bugs in the Business Class of Air India flights over the past week. The airline has taken up fumigation of the aircraft to tackle the menace. One passenger had to take medication for rashes that she developed due to the bug bites. She is now covered with painful bites all over her arms, forearms, legs, ankles, back, neck and abdomen.
This is a health and safety violation. It is nothing but callousness, affecting the prestige of our country. It tarnishes the image of India and also its people. The airline should be sued for compensation. At least somebody complained about it. This might have happened before also but people don’t dare to complain or they leave it just like that.
The airline should give financial compensation and an apology to those affected by their carelessness. It’s a gross apathy. That is why public sector enterprises failed, are failing and will fail. Air India is no exception. And the government wants to revive Air India.
By travelling in Air India business class you give business to doctors and hospitals too. That's Maharaja. Business for all. That could be the reason why no one is interested to buy air India.
This is what happens when the government runs organisations. Similar is the case with government offices and the plight of most of the branches of nationalised banks. This may be why the employees protest. It is a happy go lucky life. If you pull up the cleaning staff, you have to get ready to face a strike fully supported by the unions and of course the opposition.
The airline authorities should keep the airline clean for the Indian Ministers, MPs, MLAs, and bureaucrats, then only will it become a clean airline. Because the above category will not let it be privatised and the Air India staff be held accountable. It's white elephant of Indian Govt. It's making losses & Govt. pays it with hard earned money of common people.
Sad that one has to suffer and lodge a formal complaint for what should really be a routine exercise - to fumigate and ensure procedures of cleanliness. Maharaja is symptomatic of many of our ‘Chalta Hai’ mentality - let's all constructively deal with lethargy of Indian psyche
Hope the Air India officials take preemptive steps to eradicate the bug menace and other inconvenience. Air India thirty years back was a great airline till Praful Patel came and sold it for money. Really hope they can revive this because it’s India's pride.
The bug related incident is shameful. If this happened in a private airline, there would be a big price to pay with their stock price taking a nose dive. In case of AI, the government keeps the incompetence going, by making money from the tax payer. Just shut down the airline or sell it off in pieces. If any opposition party makes a noise, just ignore.
AI’s service is pathetic. It is prudent to get merged with a profit making carrier before it is too late.
But private airlines are not without their faults. Dilapidated aircraft, drunken pilots and robust behaviour of the crew members is a routine complaints you hear of private airlines. To meet the bottom line in cut-throat competition, these private airlines compromise on airworthiness of the aircrafts. Therefore, highlight lacunae of these new generation airlines.
A big noise is made about what happened in an airline. But this is what a common man in India endures during public transport travels. It comes to public notice only when it affects the higher class people.

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