India Post News Service

LOS ANGELES: Whilst everybody is quick to jump at Air India's throat I would like to make a few points of my own.

1) A lot of disorder at airports in India are due to India's ambiguous policies and since the guidelines are so vague Air India staffers (and in most cases these are young employees in their twenties) are faced with a series of contradicting "guidelines" laid out by the various ministries. And they have to interpret these amidst the din of ill mannered and self-opinionated passengers who are too full of themselves.

2) We Indians behave differently in different environments. Indians are pompous and arrogant and ill mannered when they're on Air India. Will they behave like this on Lufthansa or any other carrier?

3) Air India is not the first or the only one that is late. Flights are delayed due to a number of reasons- bad weather, technical problems, overcrowded skies over the destination airport and of course labor unrest. Bad weather is not in Air India's control. Likewise technical problems can arise anytime with any machinery. As for labor unrest, the less said the better for Thakray and his Shiv Sena goons and their Amchi Mumbai. Please remember an airline needs a lot more than ticketing personnel, pilots and cabin crew to operate.

The service wings at all airports worldwide are hostage to whimsical labor unions.Whilst you are all quick to rave and about India's national carrier have you ever stopped to appreciate Air India.Not too long ago an Air India jumbo made an emergency landing at LAX. The plane had blown two tires and the pilots landed the plane manually with no casualties or any injuries. Landing a 747 manually is no simple feat and experienced aviators will vouch for that.Did anybody even stop to thank the pilots for bringing them down safely?

Did anybody stop to acknowledge Lalit Kapur and his team for being able to provide buses and accommodation for 300 plus people at no notice in the middle of the night. All that the passengers did was bitch, bicker and complain.It was past 10pm and the Air India staff here in Los Angeles wasted no time in arranging transportation and accommodation for the 300 plus passengers. All this at almost midnight at no advance notice.

All that the passengers did was bitch bicker and complain.Nobody stopped to think what it takes to arrange transportation and accommodation for over 300 people at no notice and that too in the middle of the night.A couple of months ago the flight from LAX to Delhi was delayed because the incoming flight was late due to bad weather over Frankfurt. And not due to any fault of Air India. I was there to see off some friends and I personally observed how the Air India staff at LAX handled the situation.

The passengers were processed so that they could get rid of their baggage. Arrangements were made for passengers who had connecting flights from Frankfurt and Delhi. All the passengers were given vouchers for meals and snacks. Since the flight was going to Delhi there were many elderly Punjab bound passengers who did not speak English. An Air India staffer Gurpreet Kaur was all over running here and there talking to the passengers to address their needs.

Being fluent in Punjabi she went out of her way to take care of all passengers.She took charge of the situation and demonstrated excellent leadership, management and hospitality qualities.Did anybody even stop to thank the Air India staff? NoWhy is it that we tend to show our true colors in our own domestic environment?

Our driving habits are different when parking at the Cerritos Mall. But when we come half a mile east to Artesia we are back to our Karol Bagh ways.A few years ago I used to manage a movie theater in Covina where we ran Indian movies.

The behavior and hygiene of the people was pathetic and the halls were littered with just about everything after the show got over. And of course a number of people were rude and arrogant. Would they behave in that manner in an Edwards or an AMC? NoLikewise the same applies to Air India.

The same passengers will behave totally different in other carriers but when it comes to Air India they think that along with the ticket they have also bought the aircraft and the airline and that the flight attendants are their personal servants.