A trip with The Maharaja

The other day, i was travelling by our very own Air India. Though i must admit, I was as sceptical about the flight as I should be with the recent spate of goof ups that the national carrier has been so infamously known for.

The ground staff really didnt care to make many announcements informing the passengers and when they did, people responsibly headed where they were told to. Possibly it had nothing to do with the passengers being more sensible, but simply the fear of being left behind by the already slagging staff. Indeed, time wasnt really a bother for anyone associated with the airline, leading to a delayed start. Though such things come to fore, so do the facial expressions of the staff. The same was just expressionless. Be it welcoming you on board, or showing you your seat. The same was done with simply no emotion on their faces, making you feel as if they were doing you a favour flying you to your destination.

I must admit though, the air craft was one of the best that I had flown in. Not in terms of interior, but surely in terms of the smooth flying. Possibly it was the pilot but then there were simply NO air bumps, no sudden turns pushing you from one end of your seat to the other. So also as with all national carrier aircrafts, the seats too were spacious. The best thing about the national carrier which I was to find out later, was the food. Though not 5-star, it surely was steaming hot and reasonably fresh (as fresh as airlines can serve) The staff, though with the same demeanour were kind and accomodating to all passengers. With extra food being carried, the passengers surely filled up their tummies to last them quite a while. Tea and coffee was unlimited and served over again as requested by the passengers. Though it did feel nice to be treated nice when it came to food, but at the same time it felt as if I found one more reason for the national carrier not even breaking even. With an added delay during the flight, we ended up nearly 45 minutes late. All in all it was not a bad experience as I really didnt mind reaching a little after my scheduled arrival time. But, if at all the carrier wants to still run.. it has to

1. Be on time and get energetic people on board so as to make people more oomfortable at check-in to the time of boarding.
2. Make sure that you sell tickets at rates which are at par with the other airlines and not necessarily always a tad higher than most in the same sector. You simply prevent most from flying the airline in the first place.
3. The routes you travel need to be increased and so should the timings be in sync with business requirements.
4. Surely provide good food but care must be taken so as not to increase per person consumption.
5. Lastly, teach your staff to atleast smile if not anything else !!!

It surely would require much more than money to keep the National Airline afloat. Most of all it needs to realise that simply asking more money is not the solution. It is a long upward journey from here on. We the people are with you, but surely you cannot waste our money as and how you think to. Be judicious and you surely would come out of these difficult situations as well.