After the infamous IC 814 hijacking, Air India services to Kathmandu were suspended for several months. I was based in Nepal then and happened to be on the first flight after that long hiatus on a trip to Delhi. The aircraft was still on the ground when the smiling steward walked up to me with a glass of orange juice. He introduced himself as Anil Sharma and said with a degree of pride: “You may like to know that I was on that fateful flight last year.” I had just taken a gulp of the drink, when he informed me that the pilot was also the captain of the hijacked aircraft. Next, he went on to add, most of the crew members on the plane were also the ones held hostage in Kandahar.
I blurted out: “Are the hijackers also on board?” The joke did not go down well. He walked away asking somewhat curtly if I would like a beer or whisky, which Kathmandu-Delhi being an ‘international’ sector was served on board. He returned after a while to say, “You will not understand how it feels to be held hostage for four days without knowing if you will live or die at the end. At one level it is traumatic and at another you develop a deep emotional bond realising that all of us are tied by fate. So, all of us volunteered to operate this flight to achieve some kind of a ‘closure’.”
The excitement at the news of the prodigal “Maharaja” returning home, as it were to the Tatas, reminded me of this anecdote. The “Ghar Wapsi” — as people want to call it in current parlance — brings, apart from a feeling of déjà vu, a sense of ‘closure’. But the similarities do not end there.
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Of late, travel on Air India was a bit like the experience of hijacking as narrated by Sharma. People took Air India in the absence of any better option or the now famous “Vande Bharat” flights when stranded in foreign shores after a calamity. Some joke that Air India service had slipped to such levels that even the prime minister decided to give up Air India One in favour of a new aircraft — Bharat One. However, they say that in pure jest, of course. The truth is, once inside an Air India plane, one is totally at home and experiences a level of emotional comfort that no other airline — domestic or foreign — can provide.
The best part of Tatas winning the bid is the national carrier going to a truly Indian conglomerate (not one of those with shady off-shore links) that embodies the spirit of an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. More important perhaps is, one can trust the Tatas to understand the Indian ethos better than others. So they can make Air India more contemporary, stylish and efficient without necessarily altering its basic character. The customers will expect the world from the born-again airline. But, the challenge will be to deliver on the promises, overcoming the public sector cultural overhang and coping with the withdrawal pangs of the government that has run it like a feudal establishment for decades.
Already public creativity is running high on what should be the name of the new airline. Suggestions ranging from Tata Sky to Ok Tata are floating in the air. Soon, there may be speculations about the livery of the cabin crew. Should the traditional saree be replaced by Western “smart casuals”? In today’s woke world, staffing has to be age, weight, looks and gender agnostic. Body-shaming is proscribed. So, if 9 yards is kosher, one should not have a problem with Size XXXL outfits for customer facing employees. Such nuanced subjects can assume a larger dimension than down-sizing (no pun intended) of bloated headcount and reduction of overheads.
Then would come the ever-so-important question of food. Will non-vegetarian cuisine be available on board? And, if meat is served, will there be both Halal and Jhatka options offered? Hope beef (or buff) will not be a part of the ‘Cattle Class’ menu. Should there be separate Upvas food for Ekadashi, Shravan and Navratri? If festivals of one religion are recognised, what about other communities?
In international flights, keeping with the motto of “Vocal for Local”, should only IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liquor) brands of alcohol be served on the plane? However, to provide an ethnic touch, will it not be a good idea to include indigenous liquor varieties such as Mahua, Feni and Arrack in the beverages list — like Tequila, indigenous Vodka and Rum by other country’s airlines?
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A national carrier has to be inclusive. It cannot impose elite choices on the “aam aadmi”. What about regular travellers of Air India who are used to carry Theplas, Parathas, Achar on the flight and distribute among fellow passengers? Will passengers, not having the luxury of sleeper beds provided in Business and First Class, still be allowed to sleep in the aisles after spreading airline blankets?
Finally, what will be the policy on check-in baggage? Will the peon in the under-secretary’s office still have the authority to call up Ratan Tata’s office to waive excess weight for the babu’s wife returning from a shopping trip to Dubai?
Hope the Tata executives have stitched up all these important points before putting pen to paper. Otherwise, there is every chance of the deal being “hijacked” even before it takes-off.
The author is a current affairs commentator, marketer, blogger and leadership coach. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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