‘Pained’ Patel asks Ajit Singh to probe AI aircraft change

New Delhi: Union Minister Praful Patel today urged Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh for a complete probe into the change of aircraft by Air India allegedly to accommodate his family members on a trip to Maldives in 2010.
In a letter to Singh, Patel referred to news reports appearing today and some on earlier occasions relating to an RTI query wherein it has been alleged that some members of his family travelled from Bangalore to Male and back in an Air India Flight which had been changed to a larger aircraft so as to enable them to travel by business class.
Asked about this controversy, Singh told reporters, “They (Air India) should not have done this (changing the aircraft).”
According to documents supplied under RTI, Air India had deployed larger aircraft to apparently accommodate the family of Patel on their trip to Bangalore-Maldives in April 2010, file notings disclosed by the national carrier indicate.
It had earlier been claimed that since the seven business class seats were already booked on the IC-965, flying from Bangalore to Male, Air India switched to bigger aircraft A320, with 20 business class seats, to accommodate seven members of Deshpande family — in-laws of Patel’s daughter Avni.
21/02/12 First Post.India

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Categories: Air India Feb 2012