You can always count on the maharajah

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

• Discount UK Shopping

Related Articles

Celebi to invest $100 mn in Indian aviation indust...Sahara ready to sort out row with JetJet to mop up $200 m via QIPsAviation sector revival by 2011: Patel

: Much coverage in the media and nodding of heads surrounded the decision by Praful Patel, our Civil Aviation Minister, to change from Air India to Jet Airways on a recent flight from London to India. With the Air India crew being late through security in the dungeons known as Heathrow-3, something which one can understand having been subjected to this unique form of British Airports Authority inspired torture on a regular basis for the past few decades, the honourable MoCA, who obviously gets a protocol assisted walk-through made a quick change to Jet Airways, which was ready for departure.

Which is what I was thinking about when I found myself at the wrong end of a technology inspired civil aviation stick at JFK-4 a week ago.

Finishing work in New York a day earlier than planned, and looking forward to an extra day in London with my daughter, I tried to bring forward my JFK-LHR sector by reworking the booking on the airline's website. No luck, website down, please contact the call centre. Did so, and a very arrogant, patronising, condescending and supercilious voice, typical from the sub-continent of India tells me that there are enough seats and that I should get to the airport, there will be "no problem". When I insisted that he rebook me, I was told, "OK, done". And then when I asked for some sort of a reference or control number, I was given the same booking reference on which my complete itinerary stood.

So anyways, to be on the safe side, I reach JFK-3 about 4 hours early. To find that my flight to London has been cancelled. Why? Because the cabin crew are unhappy with their layover, they are unhappy with the hotel and most of all they are simply unhappy and so exercise their right to . . . report selectively sick. The commercial staff are not much help either, 20 of them sit around gossiping while two persons handle the lengthening lines of stranded passengers, and the "supervisors" . . . hide their name-tags as they strut around taking unhelpfulness to new heights. So typical, right?