An interesting article about Air India and Indian Airlines 👇
Loot of PSU airlines
1. My aunt was an air hostess with Indian Airlines. In 1992 she bought a flat in Feroz Shah Road, Delhi, for around Rs 3 crore. How did she save that much money? She said, "In the past 20 years with IA, I never had to pay for food, transport or rent."
2. Air hostesses would take home all sorts of stuff - cookies, juice, cutlery, food, chocolates. If you flew in the 1990s, you would remember they rarely brought an extra coffee or candy. They just carted home everything at the end of the flight. Passengers be damned.
3. She said, in Air India, every employee (even a Class IV sweeper) was entitled to one free ticket for entire family to an international destination. Often they were bumped up to First Class at the airport. Indian Airlines employees enjoyed similar perks.
4. Air hostesses and stewards of Indian Airlines vied to get on the Gulf and South East Asian routes as this allowed them to bring electronics which they sold in Delhi's Palika Bazar and Gafar Market. Pilots also became couriers.
5. I bought my first Sony Handycam in 2005 from Gafar Market. Through a photographer friend, I approached the shopkeeper who asked me which model number I wanted. This model was given to an IA pilot who brought it a few days later. Total cost Rs 17,000. Original Made in Japan.
6. Imagine this loot happening for the past 70 years. Every few years, the govt bailed out Air India and Indian Airlines with tens of thousands of crore rupees. They were kept alive on a drip feed because it allowed the political leadership and bureaucracy to siphon resources.
7. Air India was the first airline in Asia to acquire a jetliner - the Boeing 707. It was a prestigious and profitable airline under the Tatas. The Maharajah was synonymous with luxury and upmarket. The govt ran the airline into the ground.
8. In 2014 or so I saw an older air hostess reprimanding her junior in front of passengers. She could have offered stiff competition to an ogre. Even a 2 star hotel would not have hired her as a room cleaner. She didn't look like she had passed an exam. Definitely sifarshi.
9. India's average living standards and per capita income place it 10 or 20 times below the West. Despite this, we maintained two white elephant airlines that sucked in incalculable cash. There are still many sectors remaining where such loot is going on.
10. It took Narendra Modi 7 years to privatise Air India. This is because the political leadership and bureaucrats benefitted from free flights and job placements for their sons and daughters in the airline. Plus, loot of fuel. Catering contracts to companies floated by INC.
11. Because PSU loot has support from nearly all political parties except BJP, it is nothing less than a miracle that this has happened. I'm surprised the Supreme Court hasn't jumped into the ring and cancelled the sale.
Courtesy: Rakesh Thiyyan
