Maharaja draws aviation minister's ire

New Delhi: Air India's Maharaja may not be known for treating its common passengers royally, and now the airline has earned the ire of aviation minister Praful Patel.
On a personal foreign trip, the minister was flying AI's brand new Boeing 777-300 from New York to London this Sunday.
First, the flight was delayed at JFK for nearly two hours due to ATC congestion and then after take off, for another one-and-a-half hours the 'fasten seat belt' sign remained on. As a result, neither did inflight service begin, nor could the passengers get up to go to the loo.
Sensing great discomfort to passengers, especially children, the minister then sent a message to the pilot through a cabin crew member that safety-permitting, the seat belt sign be switched off.
But this was not the only thing that angered the minister. According to Patel's top aides, he noticed that the brand-new aircraft — named Bihar — had not been cleaned properly, and seats, even in first class, in which he was travelling were stained.
An AI spokesperson said: "A preliminary inquiry into the complaint shows the seat belt sign was on for a long time for two reasons. On ground, there was a long taxiing and waiting period due to ATC congestion. After getting airborne, weather forced the seat belt sign to remain on. Regarding the stained seats, we will look at the maintenance standards and why they are not proving to be adequate."
According to Patel's aide, the ministry keeps getting complaints from passengers about their AI experience.
19/06/08 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Categories: Air India - International Jun 2008, NACIL Jun 2008