Air India: a flying nightmare

All men are definitely not equal. At least not in the eyes of India's state carrier Air India. A round trip from Delhi to Dubai recently exposed the poor service quality that is this airline. The Air India's  cabin crew that we flew with probably believe economy passengers travel free and hence deserve no service. When you first board the flight, you are greeted with a cold intimidating stare that almost asks you "Why on earth did you board this flight moron? to make me work?". You would immediately want to get off the plane in want of a less-threatening environment.

So, to set the expectations right about why I am writing this, let me tell you that I have enough air miles under my belt now to distinguish between 'bad' and 'unacceptable ' service quality and Air India's service quality is- quite literally-UNACCEPTABLE. 

Anyone that has been to Dubai will know, that a number of unskilled workers from India migrate to Dubai to make a living. These workers are generally flown in by their employers in Dubai, or by job consultancies promising foreign riches. They are generally masons and laborers, very skilled in what they do, but not used to practicing the 'customary code of polite behavior' in an airplane, whatever that means.  And I was shocked to see the AIR INDIA crew on that flight, overlooked all professional courtesy when dealing with these passengers.

Let me also tell you that I was surprised that this plane that we were aboard was still flying! I mean every seat in the economy section was littered, unkempt and nobody seemed to have bothered that 300 people were about to board the plane. The Air conditioning unit in the economy wasn't turned on and there was a stench in aircraft. Next, the seats in the economy section did not have inflight entertainment monitors BUT all the seats for some strange reason, had a headset and a controller to choose from among a 'wide variety' of entertainment content that wasn't there ( like I said- there were no monitors). 

However, the airline had managed to save their best joke for the last. I was seated in the middle 4-seater row  (2-4-2 format) and as I often do, I was planning to read during take-off to fight off my mortal anxieties when flying. When I to switched ON the reading light 'right above my head'. It did not work! I tried again and the reading light did not light up again. After some more trials I noticed that another reading light in some other part of the aircraft was responding to my switching. "What a coincidence !" I thought " somebody on this aircraft is flipping his reading lights exactly at the same millionth of a moment, every single time.

Just that it wasn't a coincidence, it was happening. The reading light switches were wrongly wired on that plane!

Unbelievable but true. I feared for my life and prayed that all the other switches that mattered in keeping this aircraft airborne were working.

Next, here is the story about 'Captain and the Cabin Crew'. They were INSANELY rude, to say the least. The cold stare greeting to the poor guys flying economy quickly turned into loud yells to passengers that requested for an extra drink!  Really? is that what they train you to do in cabin crew training institutes? and more importantly, is that what you get paid for? 

That was not all, after the dinner service was over and the crew started collecting trash- a laborer ( who all this while had tried really hard to eat with a spoon and a fork) was blasted just because he handed over the waste, empty cans and the food tray  all at once to the flight attendant. While I thought that was a smart thing to do, the cabin crew thought otherwise. She yelled at him so bad that the poor man almost trembled with fear and shame. 

Well, 3.5 hrs later we finally landed,  as a very very sleepy captain announced our arrival ( he was so sleepy, I suspect he must have dozed off after that announcement). There was a visible relief on the crew's faces that they finally were getting rid of us. The laborers were delighted too, because they would not have to see the rude Air India crew, at least for a while. 

When I narrated this experience to a family member that was once a cabin crew with this Airline, she explained that the cabin crew on the gulf routes get so frustrated with handling 'these laborers' that they have developed this 'scare-the-shit-out-of-these-morons' technique to get work done. That's precisely where the problem is. How can the Air India cabin crew alter their service standards based on economic standing of people? Just because the laborers are not so well groomed and are shabbily  dressed does not mean they have to be treated like dirt! Every single one of them paid economy fare and were entitled to economy class facilities, that sadly means no facilities in Air India flights these days. They may not be the typical english-speaking educated gentlemen on a plane but that doesn't mean they donot have the right to fly in a safe airplane!

An  economy passenger myself, I do not expect to get business class amenities, but I definitely demand some minimum level of service (reading lights that work, an entertainment system that makes sense etc.)  and if nothing else, at least a smiling cabin crew that makes me feel safe 35000 feet up in the air.

One has to sadly conclude that India's state carrier is plagued with the same kind of lethargy that marks Indian government offices. It is clear that passenger happiness definitely does not feature in formulating crew compensation, or even in its service goals, if there are any. It is not a surprise then that Air India lost more than $1 billion of taxpayer money last fiscal due to thousands of cancelled flights and non-payment of salaries etc. 

Air India is definitely an airline without an owner, i.e. one with a business sense.