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OTHER STORIES
November 20, 1999 :
Think before you support...October 6, 2001: Why US media ignores us?August 18, 2001: We love our India, we care for its millionsNovember 19, 1994: Those knights in shining armor — A lesson to the communityMarch 13, 1993: Where are we heading?July 8, 1995: Handing $122,000 on a platterJanuary 22, 2000: FIA election fiascoApril 8, 1989: Where do we stand?September 10, 1994: Let the youth take the frontlineSeptember 17, 1994: Where are those concerned Indians?October 9, 1999: How can we forget Gandhi?October 2, 1999: Gandhi is more relevant nowJuly 7, 2001: Hindu-bashing at its peakJuly 28, 2001: Do we need another Mahatma?September 17, 2005: Congressman Tom Lantos’ threat —‘Frankly my dear, India doesn’t give a damn’March 27, 2004: Make ‘Temple Universal’ a realityAugust 12, 2000: Respect all religionsFebruary 10, 2001: A wake-up call for mankindMarch 26, 2005: Modi visa issue an eye-opener?September 15, 1981: Blackmail will not workMay 1, 1993: Tribune debut in New YorkMarch 19, 1988: Dividing in the name of unityNovember 4, 2000: When will Air India Learn?November 11, 2000: Living in a glasshouseDecember 9, 2000: Thank you for your concernMay 5, 2007: India Tribune is 30 years young and heading for Golden JubileeMay 4, 2002: Our labor of love: With pride & humilityJuly 23, 2001: Tony Brown apologizes to HindusJanuary 7, 2006: Renegade Neta emerges, Big B kicks all Bs outApril 29, 2006: 29 years of success belongs to you allFebruary 18, 2006: Why play with religious sentiments?
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SPECIAL ISSUE
November 4, 2000: When will Air India Learn?
Dear Readers:
You may call it Air India or “Late India,” but proud national carrier either arrives late or takes off late for one reason or the other. And its employees don’t give a damn to passengers.
“If you don’t want to fly with us, it is fine… who cares…. Our flights are always full anyway,” said, an irritated AI officer to an impatient passenger during that flight fiasco at O’Hare Airport on October 20
Well, officer, you have got that right. You know damn well that our parents have no choice, but to fly in Air India. Officer, you know it well that this is the only airline that can take us directly to our respective destinations like Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, etc, without changing airports at Mumbai and Delhi. This is the monopoly you enjoy over other friendly foreign airlines and we have to tolerate all your tantrums.
Flying with Air India means one has to be patriotic enough to swallow all insults and ill treatments. One must be patient enough to face any flight delays or cancellations. One must keep one’s cool under control to face rudeness of AI staff. Last but not least, one must be ready to miss baggage for a few days, a few weeks or even forever, and be prepared to receive a few dollars as compensation for one’s lost valuable belongings.
Delays or cancellations due to mechanical snags or bad weather can be understood, but ill-treating the passengers, or rude behavior of AI staff cannot be tolerated. Engine snag of AI-128 flight on October 20 (Friday) and the decision to cancel the flight for safety reasons can be appreciated. But not informing the passengers of AI-124 of October 22 (Sunday) ahead of time about clubbing them with the passengers of AI-128 (Friday), which led to a chaos and consequent police intervention, is a shame on the part of Air India.
Though all the mess is its own creation, Air India does not believe in courtesy. Courteous attitude and polite behavior are conspicuously absent as far as the staff is concerned. Can’t Air India display some civility and inform the passengers from time to time the changes that it has been making with regard to its flight? Cant it arrange, charter or hire a substitute aircraft when a regular flight suffers an engine snag? Where is that courteous Maharaja? Has he gone into hibernation? When will this national carrier learn to be passenger-friendly?
Sincerely,
Prashant Shah
Editor & Publisher
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