After my meetings with Mr. Tata and the CMD the previous day, I called Jagtap, our Assistant Secretary and requested him to come to my office.  On arrival, he asked - is the rumor true and I said - that is the reason for my request, and then asked him to help me draft my letter of resignation.  Jagtap stated that it should be simple and suggested that I should indicate that I was leaving the airline for personal reasons and leave it at that.

So, my simple two paragraph letter was handed over by me personally to the CMD who requested me to stay on until further notice.

Two days later, I received a call from the Aviation Minister’s P.A. asking me if it was true that I was leaving the airline and when I replied in the affirmative, was asked to put everything on hold.

It would appear that the P.A. then called the CMD and was advised that the latter had accepted my resignation to which he was told that he had no authority to do so, as Mr. Sethi was not an employee of the airline.  Mr. Sethi was selected for the post of Deputy Managing Director by the Bureau of Public Sector Enterprises and serves at the “pleasure of the President” and only the Minister, on behalf of the President, could accept his resignation.

The CMD was instructed to forward the letter to Minister’s office and await further instructions.

A few days later, I received another call from the Minister’s P.A. asking me to meet the Minister at his residence the next day.  Accordingly, I proceeded to Delhi and met the Minister, who said that he was aware that the past few months had put a lot of strain upon me but I should rest assured that I had his full backing.  He requested me to reconsider and withdraw my letter. I spent more than an hour explaining in detail what had transpired since Mr. RR had taken over as CMD and how his sole interest was to make “money for himself and someone in Delhi”. 

Air-India had always had a clean reputation and we acted under established protocols, which Mr. RR wanted to bypass.  In my talk with the Minister, I minced no words and emphasized that under no circumstances could I continue to see the deterioration of the airline which Mr. Tata and his team had built over decades.  Hence, I requested the Minister to please let me go as I could no longer spend sleepless nights trying to figure out how to thwart the CMD’s machinations.

He agreed to my request and said that he respected my decision and he would give me his blessings for my future.  It was a very happy individual who returned to Bombay after this meeting.

On my return to office, I went to see the CMD and told him that I could not continue to hold on to my two jobs as Dy. MD and CD as my successor should not be bound by any decision that I made and, hence, I should be relieved immediately.  I had about 60 days leave pending, even after having takes over 3 months privilege and sick leave after my by-pass surgery the previous year.

Mr. RR asked me for my recommendation for appointment of the next Commercial Director and asked if the deputy CD was ready to take over the job.  I informed him that the current Dy. CD had been in the grade and job for too short a time.  Further, I had serious misgivings about his ability to work with his colleagues as a team, which was essential to the efficient running the most important department of the airline.  

I told Mr. RR that I had spoken at length with the current incumbent and got the distinct impression that he wanted to centralize all decision making.  Both Mr. Dastur and I had worked towards a decentralized system where we had delegated considerable authority to the various Regional Heads and Commercial Managers.  Such an organization had developed an excellent team and as the CD, I had less paper on my desk and more time to handle policy issues. 

This manner of working also gave me considerable time to oversee my other responsibilities as Dy. MD, in which capacity, I was in charge of three other Departments - Planning, Ground Handling Services and In-flight Services.

I gave him examples of how it took just a weekly call between a Regional Head and myself to clear all pending issues, leaving the RD then to follow up and take care of the paper work.

The thinking of the Dy CD was the complete opposite of this system and would create unnecessary paperwork and backlogs.  As an airline, we operated in a highly dynamic and competitive world and decisions had to be taken without delay.  As such, I could not recommend his promotion.  On the other hand, the three Rds in the U.K., Europe and North America had expressed a desire to stay abroad and not be considered for the post of CD.  

Hence, my recommendation would be to promote Malcolm Barretto who was the MD of the Hotel Corporation (HCI).  I was happy when Mr. RR accepted my recommendation and gave the job to Malcolm.

I then started making plans to “close shop” and leave India.  My first step was to welcome Malcolm to my office and hand over 54 bottles of scotch and brandy that I had received as gifts over the past three and a half years and which were lying in the cabinets of my office.

It took a few days for the enormity of my decision to hit me and I will comment on this in my next Post.

While playing golf yesterday, my wife and I passed an alligator basking in the sun on the 12th fairway.  I took a photograph of it from about 20 feet.  We had been warned not to get too close to any alligator as they can run faster than a human being.  Since we were in a golf cart, we did feel quite safe, but kept our distance.

South Florida’s water system connects every man made canal and lake and, as such, alligators can appear in most parts of the state.  I remember a warning of an alligator sighting in our community late last year, but it didn’t cause any disruption in our lives.

I sent the photograph to a number of friends and family members and my grand daughter, whom I call Sunshine, wrote back “Dada, how cool!!”.

In my last Post, I had concluded that I had reached a stage when it was time to look at other choices for my future.

Accordingly, my wife and I spent quite a number of days and weeks deciding what we wanted for our and the children’s future.  Reluctantly, we came to the conclusion that as far as my own career was concerned, I had reached a ceiling.  With the change in the culture in Delhi, the post of Chief Executive in Air-India under the present regime, would be a politically appointed one and which would require a life of Ji Hazoori and sycophancy; something which my conscience and self respect would not allow.  

Would I like to move to the Private Sector?  I threw out some feelers but senior Management openings were very few, except in the Tata Group of companies, where Mr. JRD Tata had indicated that he could find me a suitable position.  The other option was to move overseas and find a country which would enable our children to get a good education and then, opportunities.

Only two countries fit the bill; the U.K. and the USA.  Language would not be a barrier and hard work would be rewarded.  

Hence, I called my old friend Adli Dajani of Gulf Air and said “Adli, I am ready to move”.  He responded by offering me a senior position in his airline which I declined stating that one major condition was to move to an English speaking country with excellent education facilities.  If he could find me an opening in the U.K. or the USA, I would be very grateful.  If not, I would stay in India and move to the private sector.

A week later, Adli came back and stated that he had spoken with his colleagues in the Arab airlines ; two of whom would be delighted to talk with me.  He suggested that I do not waste any time and if I agreed, he would set up appointments with the CEOs of Alia, Jordanian Airline and Kuwait Airways.  I agreed and he came back with dates which were quite acceptable.  Accordingly, I took a week off from work and embarked upon a change of life, as I had known almost 24 years.

My wife and I left for Amman and met with Ali Gandhour whose desire, as I have written before, to operate services to India I had resisted.  He was very gracious and offered me the post of General Manager - USA & Canada, but the terms, though attractive, presented some problems.  Two items of the “package” did not appeal to me:

1. I would be placed on the payroll of the Jordanian Consulate to the U.N. While this would give me a tax free salary, it would deny me Social Security benefits as there would be no contribution from the employer.
2. Such an appointment would also deny me access to a Green Card.

I thanked Mr. Gandhour for his offer and stated that I would take it into consideration.

We then left for Kuwait where we were met on arrival by my old friend Fahed Al-Wazzan, the Commercial Director of KU.  Fahed had served as Manager - India for KU and he reminded me of the time I had kept him waiting for almost an hour before meeting him in my office at Narriman Point.  We had dinner in town at which time, Fahed told me that at my meeting the next morning with Ahmed Mishari, the GM of KU, I should ask for the post of Regional Manager - North America.

I met Mr. Mishari the next day and he started the discussion by stating that while KU would be happy to post me in New York, the job he had in mind was that of Commercial Adviser.  Living in New York would entail considerable travel as my responsibilities would be worldwide and he enquired if I would agree to that condition.  In addition, he wanted me to spend the first 6 months or so in Kuwait to learn about the airline in depth.

I agreed to both conditions and he said that he would be happy to send me an offer in writing within a week.  On parting, he gave me a gold Cartier wrist watch which I gave to my younger son only last year.  It was hardly worn and lay in the safe deposit box for most of the past 35 years.

Manju and I left the next day for Geneva and from there to New York, where I met with an Immigration Lawyer to discuss the road map to get a Green card.

On our return to Bombay, I did receive a letter from KU offering me the post of Commercial Adviser at a fairly high tax free salary with suitable housing in Kuwait and thereafter, in New York.  It was a very attractive offer and after consulting my older brother, I sent back a letter of acceptance.

The same day, I called Mr. JRD Tata’s Secretary and asked for an appointment.  Mr. Tata was no longer our Chairman, but he was member of the AI Board and my mentor.  His Secretary stated that Mr. Tata was extremely busy that day, but he would get back to me.  He called a few minutes later asking me to come to Bombay House at 4:00pm and would I like tea or coffee?

My meeting with Mr. Tata will always remain quite fresh in my mind and if I might indulge, I would like to take the liberty of reproducing some of the talk that we had.

He started by mentioning that he had learnt that I was quite unhappy and I informed him that this was the very purpose of my request to meet with him.  Because his time was precious, I briefly mentioned the various demands and interference from New Delhi which the CMD was determined to push through.  While he was aware of the issue of the 4 747s, he was taken aback by the other items that I mentioned, particularly the serving of wines and sale of liquor and perfumes.

I concluded my litany of problems by stating that I could no longer carry on in my assignment and that I had come to inform him that I was leaving Air-India.  To my surprise, Mr. Tata said that he knew this would come to pass having seen both Nari Dastur and KG Appusamy leave in the last couple of years.

He was deeply saddened that the old guard would no longer be there and he would miss his conversations with the top people that he had seen grow up in the airline.  I told him that I was leaving with a very heavy heart.

He said something to the effect - Inder, you have given more to Air-India than you have received and you go with my blessings.  

He then asked me of my future plans and I told him that I would be taking up employment with a foreign airline at which point, he reminded me of his offer to find a suitable opening in one of the Tata group of companies.  I thanked him but stated that I was now looking towards our sons’ future and the opportunities overseas appeared most attractive.

Mr. Tata bid me farewell and in parting said - If you need to use me as a reference, please do not hesitate.  I have enjoyed working with you and wish you every success in your future endeavors.

I left Bombay House and went back to my office and then called Mr. Raghu Raj and asked if I could see him at his residence that evening on a private matter.  He agreed and I went up 3 floors from our apartment around 7:00pm.

My meeting with him did not last very long and at the end, I got the distinct impression that he appeared quite relieved that I would no longer be a thorn in his side.  He asked me of my future plans and I vaguely told him that nothing had been firmed up but that I needed to now seriously look at other opportunities.  I left after telling him that my letter would be on his desk the next morning.

Soon after his arrival as CMD, Mr. RR informed me that one of his main objectives was to reduce expenditure, including and most importantly, have a “Zero Hiring” policy which meant that no expansion could take place.  He went further by saying that he had already directed the then Operations Director, Capt. D. Bose to cancel all pilot recruitment and training.

I recorded my serious objection to the latter directive as we needed to expand our operations to maintain and improve our market share, but he was adamant.

He also told me that he had instructed the Personnel Director that there would be no promotions of any staff in any Department for at least one to two years.

I was extremely perturbed by these developments which would have a disastrous impact on staff morale and spoke with CL Sharma and PV Gole, who was then Personnel Director.  They told me that they had no option but to accept the CMD’s instructions and that I would be wise to go along and not create “waves”.

I was, therefore, surprised when after returning from Delhi one day, Mr. RR informed me that he wanted to promote a member of the Commercial Department staff from the grade of Asst. Station Superintendent to the next higher grade.  Even before he gave me the name, I asked if he was referring to the son of the current Aviation Minister and if so, would he permit me to give him some background.

I mentioned that the Aviation Minister had come to see me during the Janata Government regime when he (a Congress party member) was no longer in power.  He had asked me to look after his son and I promised to keep an eye on him and in fact, only a few days prior to Mr. RR’s meeting with him, the Minister had called me and asked about his son’s well being.  I told Mr. RR that the staff concerned was 61st on the seniority list and to promote him out of turn would be difficult to justify particularly in view of his directive to the Personnel Director indicated above.

I suggested that he let me handle this delicate issue and he agreed.  I called on the Minister on my next visit to Delhi and told him that he could face an embarrassing situation if his son jumped 60 positions in his grade.  I recommended that given another year or two, his seniority would improve and at that time, I would be more than happy to promote him to the next higher grade.  Meanwhile, I suggested that we transfer him to Kuala Lumpur where a vacancy had occurred and this way, his added experience would help in justifying his promotion.

The Minister accepted my suggestion and I came back and reported the discussion to Mr. RR who “seemed” satisfied.  I say “seemed” because very soon after I had left the airline, there was an article in the newspapers that Air-India had promoted 63 officers in the ASS grade.  The article mentioned that in previous years and under other Managements, such mass promotions had never taken place.  Talk about sycophancy!!!!

As per normal practice, we had issued a List of Transfers which would take place on April 1, 1980 subject to exceptions where the date of transfer would create a hardship.  I received a request from one Manager for a short delay which I agreed to, little realizing that this staff would use the delay to get his brother who was a Member of Parliament to put the “squeeze” on Mr. RR.  I happened to be away on tour when my deputy informed me that in my absence, Mr. RR had agreed to leave the Manager at the same station.  

On my return, I met the CMD whose exact words were “what Delhi demands, Delhi gets”.

During the short time that I worked with Mr. RR, I found it quite peculiar that he showed very little interest in the workings of the most important department of the airline.  He never enquired how we earned our revenue; which were the regions generating the maximum revenue and most importantly, did I need any help in improving our profitability.

I did manage to get him to attend one meeting of the Senior Delay Committee which met once a month to discuss delays and how to minimize them.  The Committee was comprised of Department Heads and took its task very seriously.  At this one particular meeting, the Director of Engineering indicated that a few flights had been delayed by the Cabin crew at Bombay airport because they were unhappy with the quality of ice that was delivered by the Catering Department.  I remember Santosh Oberoi who headed Chefair stating that there had been occasions when machine made ice was unavailable and that his department had supplied “bazaar” ice which the cabin crew refused to accept.

Before anyone could comment, Mr. RR stated that while machine made ice was preferable, could “we not use dry ice instead”!!!!  There was pin drop silence and Santosh first glanced at me and then looked at the ceiling.  I never requested Mr. RR to attend any more meetings nor did I ever make any attempt in raising with him any issues pertaining to the four departments under my care.  I learnt very soon that his sole interest in his assignment was to make money for himself and his sugar daddies in New Delhi.

Soon after he took over as CMD, Mr. RR did raise with me an appeal made by three Commercial Department officers who had been superseded for promotion to the grade of Commercial Manager.  I informed him that the unlike promotions to lower grades in the department, promotions to this higher grade were strictly on basis of merit and suitability.  His predecessor had accepted the recommendations of the Senior Panel comprising the two Deputy Managing Directors and the Personnel Director and that I had personally briefed the then M.D. why these three officers were not considered suitable for promotion.  As a matter of fact, they had been “left behind” in a previous round of promotions for the same reasons.

Instead of accepting my explanation, Mr. RR asked me to have the Personnel files of these officers sent to him.  I arranged to have this done but did not hear from him again.  I do recall very vividly that these files were lying on the credenza behind his desk on the day I submitted my papers to him.

It came, therefore, as no great surprise to me when I later learnt that he had promoted all three to the higher grade soon after I had left the airline.

One day I received a Note from the CMD’s Secretary stating that one middle level staff in the Delhi office was scheduled to retire soon and the CMD wanted to give him an extension of one year.  I went up to the 22nd floor with the Personnel file of this particular staff - there was not one file; there were two as the reports on this staff and follow ups demanded more paper and space.

I briefed the CMD about this staff and mentioned that had the airline been in the private sector, the staff concerned would have been terminated many years ago.  He was a plodder and time server who showed no initiative and that we had allowed him to attain superannuation solely because he had more that one god father and that previous CEOs had agreed to keep him on and that he had never risen above the grade of a Station Superintendent.

The CMD mentioned that the request for extension had come directly from the Aviation Secretary.  I countered that:

1. In the past, we had similar instances where requests for extension had originated from Aviation Secretaries which we had declined.
2. I gave the case of the previous RD - India whose request we had turned down.  Here again, he had the backing of the previous Aviation Secretary.
3. I also mentioned that we have declined the request for extension from the previous RD - Middle East.

Bearing in mind these precedents, it would be difficult, nay impossible to justify the extension of this unsuitable middle level staff.

I had hoped that this would be the end of the matter but alas, I was summoned the next morning with orders to grant the extension.  By this time, I had had enough and told the CMD that he should issue written instructions to this effect to me and I would send back his letter refusing to do so.  He would then have to option to over-rule me.

He asked for time to think it over and I never heard of the issue again.

One day, Mr. RR sent a lady to see me about a proposal for making the film “Gandhi”.  This lady stated that her team wanted 30 First Class and 50 Economy class free tickets over a period of an year.  I asked her what would AI get in return and she was taken aback by my question.  She had assumed that as the national carrier, AI would gladly donate such free tickets, particularly since her backers were politically connected.  At the same time, she stated that when she had met the CMD, he appeared quite willing to accede to her request.

I then suggested that she go back to him as I was unable to agree.  She left and shortly thereafter, Mr. RR called and his first words were “why must you be so negative?”.  I insisted that all I was asking was for a quid pro quo.  We could not justify willy nilly grant of free tickets to whoever came from his god father in Delhi and since I could not find a QPQ, perhaps, the decision would best be left in his hands.  He muttered unintelligibly and rang off.

I left AI shortly thereafter and never learnt the conclusion of this matter.  However, I did see the film at the Asia Society in New York as Air-India’s guest.

The above incidents may appear, by themselves, quite insignificant, but taken along with other major issues, such as the purchase of 4 747s, grant of GSAs, changing the wine list on our aircraft etc., etc., gave me many sleepless nights and made me rethink deeply of my future in Air-India.

Sometime shortly after taking over as CMD, Mr. RR hinted to me that perhaps, we should have three Deputy MDs.  Both CL Sharma and I guessed quite correctly, that the Director of Operations had made his move now that Pranab Mukherjee was back in the Cabinet.  Mr. RR went so far as to tell me that in his opinion, the Inflight Services Department should be overseen by the D.O.  I asked him how, when he had been with the airline for such a short period, he had come to this conclusion.  Was he being manipulated by the D.O.?  He vehemently denied it but when pressed suggested that “let sleeping dogs lie”.

I was reminded of Mr. Appusamy’s remarks to me more than an year earlier that the culture was changing and that I should look for another job. That, coupled with the advice that I had received from both my wife and my cardiologist made me decide to start looking at other choices for my future.

I have recently been suffering from what is called “writer’s block”.  That, coupled with two quick visits to New York and New Jersey have delayed adding to my Blog.  Hopefully, I will now get back to my routine.

The latest visit to the northeast was a very pleasant one.  We celebrated Diwali and the 3G birthday of which I had spoken in my last post.  Now, let’s come back to the narration of my lack of “bonding” with Mr. Raghu Raj.

After the incident of wines to be served and perfumes for sale where I was accused of insubordination and asked to leave his office, peace reigned for a short while until I received a visit from two persons. 

These two persons (I will refrain from calling them gentlemen) were sent down to see me by the CMD’s Secretary who merely stated that they were emissaries from “you know who in Delhi”.

I asked them to be seated and requested them to let me know what I could do for them.  They answered “appoint us your GSA in USA, Canada, the U.K. and Europe”, to which I replied “how about my job?  Don’t you want that too”.  The response was “you know who has sent us so let’s get down to the appointment”.

I asked them if they had a written proposal to which the response was in the negative.  They replied that they did not need to justify their demand as they were told by the “you know who in Delhi” that AI would grant the GSA without question.  At this time, I excused my self and went to Anil Kadam’s office and called the CMD.  He told me that orders had come down from the PM’s office to accommodate the request of these two characters and that I should do the needful.

I went back and told them that I would look at their request favorably if they would present a detailed proposal to which I was give a blank stare after which they left my office.

About ten minutes later, the CMD called me and said - let me make this clear.  We have to give them what they want and so issue them a letter confirming their appointment.  I requested an audience with him to indicate why the request would be difficult to accede to.  He agreed and I went up to the 22nd Floor.  I stated that:

1. We do not need a GSA in the USA, as under the laws of that country, we could offer any fare level we felt necessary and/or give any commission level to agents. If asked to justify, we would have great difficulty in explaining why we are paying an over-ride commission of 3% without any quid pro quo.
2. We had appointed a GSA in Canada only a few months ago and it would seem odd to make a change so soon without any justification.
3. We had a GSA in the U.K. whose appointment had been viewed and scrutinized very carefully by the former Aviation Minister himself and we were give a “clean chit”.  We would open up a Pandora’s Box if we now changed the GSA.
4. We could look at a GSA for certain European countries, provided we had a detailed project report justifying the need for such an appointment.

I got the distinct impression that I had finally made an impression.  Mr. RR became quite candid and explained that the instructions came directly from none other than Sanjay Gandhi and that only country that was in play was the U.K. The other countries and areas were asked for to camouflage the main issue.  Further, he had no alternative but to accede to the fiat from New Delhi. He also stated that the two had gone back to Delhi and that I should send the letter of appointment to the Regional Manager - Government Affairs in Delhi for delivery to them.

Accordingly, I wrote the letter and sent it to Delhi for delivery to the PM’s office.  I also called the RD - UK and told him of my predicament.

Before the letter could be delivered, some maneuvering had taken place and the emissary from the Delhi office was told that certain events had overtaken the situation and the letter of appointment could be cancelled.

It was only after I had resigned that I learnt the following:

1. One of the two characters was the nephew of one of the partners of our current GSA in the U.K. and there was no love lost between the two relatives.  The nephew was a close friend of the second character who, in turn, was a close confidant - read “chamcha” - of Sanjay Gandhi.
2. Our GSA learnt of the going ons behind the scenes and arranged to deliver a small suitcase full of cash to Sanjay Gandhi who decided to let matters lie.
3. The other partner of the GSA had been unaware of this exchange of cash and felt betrayed and the two partners had a falling out.

The entire episode was very upsetting and I had quite a few sleepless nights.  So much so, that my wife gave me a book to read; the theme of which was - you cannot fight City Hall.  It was her way of saying that it was time to call it a day and to pursue other interests.

It has been quite some time since I posted on my Blog.  Manju and I were up north visiting our children and grand children - a truly great trip.  Will be going back on the 26th for Diwali and the “3G” birthday party.  It is called 3G because we celebrate the birthdays of 3 generations at one time - Aanya our oldest grand daughter (whom I call my Sunshine) was born on October 8.  Manju was born on October 12 and Akhil, out oldest son was born on October 19.

It has been a tradition for some years now to have one big get together and it is called the 3G celebration.

On returning to Florida, we were met by Matthew, a Category 4 hurricane.  We reached on the evening of October 5 and Matthew arrived on October 6; ours was one of the last flights to land at West Palm International airport.  Hurriedly, we placed shutters on all our windows and the French window leading to the patio.  Our neighbors were a great help and we settled down to experience our very first hurricane with 2 hurricane lanterns and lots of crackers, bread and water.

We got lucky.  Just as Matthew was parallel to our part of South Florida, it veered slightly north and passed 45 miles to our east instead of 25 miles as forecast.  Our part of Boynton Beach (15 miles from the Ocean) experienced strong wind gusts up to 60 mph and lots of rain, but it was nothing compared to what happened to the coastal regions and Central & North Florida.  The damage was enormous and even as I write, thousands of homes are still without electricity.  The state of Georgia and the Carolinas had even more damage and at last count 22 lives were lost.

When the storm passed, I thanked the “Neeli Chattriwala” who had listened to the prayers of our family and friends.  We truly were spared.

Now to get back to my narrative.  I have spoken about my open heart surgery in October 1979.

On my return from medical leave in early 1980, I received a call from an old friend and ex-colleague.  Adli Dajani was our Sales Manager in Damascus when I joined Air-India.  He left sometime in the early 1970s and joined Kuwait Airways in a senior position and later moved to Gulf Air where he was (in 1980) their General Manager (Commercial).

Adli had learnt of my by-pass operation and called to enquire about my health.  He then said that he had learnt about the problems that Air-India had gone through with the Bosu Committee Inquisition and asked if I was happy with my current status and that my own job was secure.  I mentioned to him that the atmosphere had calmed down and that I had the full support of both my current Chairman (PC Lal) and Managing Director (BS Das).

Adli then said that I should seriously consider a “change of scenery” and suggested a meeting in Bahrain between Gulf Air and Air-India, indicating that there were some issues which needed to be resolved.  I agreed to the meeting and after consulting our RD- Middle East, we set a date for our meeting towards the end of March 1980.  The meeting was quite cordial and successful and an interesting note was that on one side of the table was the AI delegation and on the other side was the Gulf Air delegation whose members were all ex-Air-India employees.

At the end of the meeting, I met Adli at his home and in passing, expressed admiration for the various carpets that were strewn over the floors.  He indicated that they were all “gifts from none other than the person I had introduced to him”, referring to Naresh Goyal who was by then the GSA for both Kuwait Airways and Gulf Air.  Adli then got serious and said that if ever I wanted to move from AI, he would be delighted to find a place for me in Gulf Air.  He also stated that some of his colleagues in other Arab airlines would be equally happy to do the same.

I told Adli that while his offer was very welcome, I was quite happy with my current status, but if it changed, I would get back to him.  I also told him that in case I did move, I would like to be situated in an English speaking country where my children could get a good education and had better job opportunities.  We short listed the USA and the U.K. and Adli said that he would keep my preferences in mind.

Before I returned to Bombay (I went to Cairo after Bahrain for talks with Egyptair), I learnt that Mr. BS Das had been removed as our M.D. and it came to my mind that perhaps, I may have to make a change shortly.

Come April 1980 and Mr. Raghu Raj Bhalla (RR) was appointed as our Chairman and Managing Director.  I have already mentioned this in an earlier Post and talked about asking him and Mrs. Raghu Raj for dinner at our apartment.  I have also written about his very first “venture”; purchase of four (4) 747 aircraft which I managed to scuttle.

In an earlier Post, I have mentioned a Note handed over to Mr. RR by the then Minister of Civil Aviation at the meeting at his residence which was chaired by Dhirendra Bhramachary and at which we were directed to purchase the 4 747 aircraft. The same Note had three items, one of which pertained to the acceptance of other airline documents as payment by our GSA in the U.K. - a subject I have also spoken about.  Please forgive me if I am repeating myself.

The second item on the Note given by the Aviation Minister was that the GSA be allowed to sell all categories of traffic to all destinations.

I spoke with the then R.D. - U.K. who was opposed to this expansion and said that his sales staff and Travel Agents were adequately covering these market segments.  Expanding the GSAs coverage to include traffic to the USA and/or First Class traffic to India would alienate these Travel Agents.  His study did not indicate any substantial increase in revenue by granting this additional traffic to the GSA.

As such, I spoke to Mr. RR that we should not accede to this request which had obviously been originated by the GSA.  He accepted my reluctance but I left his office with the feeling that his view of the R.D. - U.K. was “clouded”.  I spoke confidentially to the R.D. and told him to watch his step vis-a-vis the CMD.  Subsequent events proved that my fears were justified because soon after I left AI, Mr. RR transferred the R.D. back to India.  As expected the R.D. did not take kindly to this transfer and took early retirement.

The last item on this Note was on the wines that we offered on our aircraft and the perfumes and liquor that we sold in-flight.  There is a background to this.

About one year before this Note appeared, my brother who lived in New Delhi told me that he had been approached by an importer of liquor and perfumes and asked if Air-India could replace our current list of these items by those imported by this person.  I informed my brother that we had a Standing Committee which selected wines that we served and that, as per normal practice, they reviewed the list periodically.  I also told him that this protocol had been established a long time ago and I saw no reason to make any change.

It would behove this Importer to meet with our Controller of Stores  & Purchases so that the Standing Committee could look at his wine list when they next made their periodic review.  He could, at the same meeting, present his list of perfumes and liquor for the Dept. Head to review.

A few months later, my brother informed me that the Importer did not want to go through the procedure that I had laid out and had made an offer of a commission of 2.5% to my brother if his list of wines and perfumes could be accepted.

I was quite upset with my brother and told him to “butt out”.  I would not tolerate any mention of such “commissions”.  We ran a very transparent operation with regard to our purchases and that protocols had been set and established by my former superiors, in which I personally believed very strongly.

I was, therefore, surprised to see this Item on the Note that was handed over by the Minister to Mr. RR, whose only comment to me was - take care of this.

I had a long and rather painful meeting with Mr. RR when I explained the above background to him.  I urged him to inform the Minister of our protocols and that whoever gave him this Item, should be asked to follow laid down procedures.  

Unfortunately, I was not successful in convincing Mr. RR.  With regard to the perfumes and liquor, he asked me to pass this item to the Controller of Stores & Purchases with a remark that the CMD would like him to discuss it with him on the latter’s next visit to Santa Cruz.

With regard to the wines, Mr. RR asked me to participate in the next wine tasting session that the Standing Committee had scheduled and see how we could “accommodate this request”.

The Committee was due to meet in London in June 1980 and I arranged to be present.  The Committee was planning to taste 32 wines; 8 each - red, white, Burgundies and Bordeaux. I was initiated into their protocols which required that each bottle be covered by brown paper to hide the label and then marked with a number.  The wine was poured into glasses; then each member of the committee sniffed and tasted it after which he spat it out and ate a small piece of cheese to eliminate the taste.  

Each member of the Committee would then rate the wine on a scale of 0 to 10.

We went through the entire process at the end of which I must admit that I was feeling “pretty high”.  The end result was that the Committee selected three wines to replace those then been served on our aircraft.  These included only one wine that the importer had offered to us.  I took these findings back to Bombay and presented them to Mr. RR.

Mr. RR asked if this Committee’s findings were binding upon us and when I told him “No, we can overrule the Committee but would have to provide justifiable reasons”.  Since neither he nor I was a connoisseur of wines, we would have a major problem if our decision was questioned at a later date.  We had established this Committee and delegated authority to it since they were experts.

I was then DIRECTED to withdraw this delegation of authority and add all the wines that this importer had mentioned to the list.  At this point, I had had enough and told Mr. RR that if that was his wish, he would have to issue such instructions to me in writing.  He accused me of insubordination and told me to leave his office which I did.

It so happened that shortly thereafter, a member of our new Board was visiting Bombay and  called on me.  I took him out to lunch at which time he asked how was my relationship with the CMD.  I told him that I was very upset with the direction in which we were headed which was to make money for certain individuals.

This gentleman then revealed to me that Mr. RR had been selected to perform a certain function and that was to develop ideas and create avenues for money to be raised for the main political family in Delhi.  He also said that in case I and others in the organization did not fall in line, we could and would be replaced.

Fortunately, RR did not raise the subject again while I was still with the airline and I presumed that the subject had been laid to rest.

AI UNDER Mr. LOHANI

Part 2 of 2

My attention has been drawn to some other items of financial importance when considering the “operating profit” of Rs. 8 crores - later raised, for yet unexplained reasons, to Rs. 100 crores.

First, the sale of five 777-200LRs to Etihad for $67 million a piece or  incurring a loss of ₹800 Cr on the five aircraft.  While Etihad engineers sat in the hangers when the aircraft were being readied for delivery, Air India paid huge sums on buying spares for replacement of worn out parts and also because aircraft were being cannibalized.

Secondly, money owed to employees, vendors like oil companies, airport operators, etc which is enabling the airline to save interest. Imagine a scenario if money owed had been paid and the airline would have had to take more loans and paid interest on it. 

None of these factors haven't been cited by any one in authority though they have contributed enormously in reducing debt, improving cash flow, etc.

Source: Jitender Bhargava - in the revised edition of his book on the descent of Air-India. 

Thirdly, payment of 25%% less emoluments to pilots, maintenance engineers and cabin crew for the past three years.  It is common knowledge because the unions have taken the AI management to the Court. Affected employees have also been posting their grievances relating to it on Facebook. 

Getting back to what I stated in Part 1, “during checks, officials realized that out of the 66 international aircraft that they fly, the seats of a good 40 percent are unserviceable, causing inconvenience to passengers”.

To a layman, it is quite obvious that if these checks had been made periodically, this situation would never had taken place.  I would have thought that a PROFESSIONAL Engineer such as the present CMD would have ensured that preventive maintenance would have eliminated this sorry state of affairs.

Sad, truly sad, what the current and previous managements has done to this once great airline.

And now we learn that the current CMD has been elevated to the rank of a full Secretary to the Government of India.  Personally speaking, I believe that the status of Air-India’s CEO should never - repeat never - had been downgraded to the rank of a Joint Secretary.  I mentioned this when I wrote to Arvind Jadhav way back in 2009 and told him that he had been downgraded.

In my time with Air-India, the CEO always held the rank of a full Secretary.  ACM P.C. Lal was in this grade.  Mr. Appusamy was in this grade and, as Dy. M.D., I was in the grade of Additional Secretary which is a rank higher than a Jt. Secretary.

On reflection, one wonders if this “elevation” is personal to the present incumbent or has the post of CEO actually been upgraded and I suspect that it is the former because this is how I read and interpret the actual  wording of the “orders”:

“Air India chairman and managing director Ashwani Lohani has been empanelled to hold secretary-level posts in the central government.  - See more at: http://www.governancenow.com/news/psu/air-india-chief-ashwani-lohani-empanelled-as-secretary#sthash.nyxVKZmS.dpuf”,

So, is this a “reward” to Mr. Lohani for accomplishing the objectives of the P.M?

Under the current CMD, Air-India embarked on an expansion by adding a few new routes; the credit for two of these must be given not to the CMD, but to the Prime Minister.  Let’s take both of these routes:

SAN FRANCISCO.

The P.M. gave a major speech when he visited the Silicon Valley in September 2015.  Prior to this speech, there was a flurry of telephone calls to the airline’s CEO with the result that during the speech, the P.M. announced that AI would be starting a flight to California.

There was no preparation usually associated with the inauguration of a new route.  There was only a resident Sales Representative whose office was located in the garage of his house.  Two relatively senior executives were hurriedly moved to SFO and housed in hotel rooms to lay out the ground work of the operation which took place two months later.

There was considerable confusion regarding the configuration.  The intention was to operate only a Business and Economy Class flight, but with little notice, the existing configuration of the Boeing 777 could not be changed and so the initial flights were operated with a 3 class configuration.  My information may be out dated but my understanding is that the change has still not been achieved due to aircraft positioning and the inability of the airline to withdraw aircraft to effect the seating change without seriously disrupting flight operations.

Office space was leased but not a single staff was in this office for almost eight (8) months.  The only AI staff in SFO was the Airport Manager.  It was only very recently, that about 6 posts have been sanctioned of which five (5) are India based officers.  The Manager has yet to arrive.

This has been a very hastily started operation which shows that it was not properly planned and was executed entirely because the powers that be wanted this flight to operate.

To Air-India’s credit, it must be said that the route has been a great success with excellent load factors and there is talk of making it a daily operation.

AHMEDABAD - LONDON FLIGHTS

Here again, the initiative was that of the Government and not the airline.  The operation of this flight was also announced by the Prime Minister (and not the airline itself) during his speech at Wembley stadium in London on November 13, 2015.

According to someone, apparently, the P.M. was not satisfied and also wanted a flight between AMD and the USA and so, on August 15, 2016 this flight was inaugurated.  Interestingly, this was a properly planned inauguration unlike the AMD - BOM - LON flights, which were hastily put together to appease the P.M.

In this connection, it is relevant to quote here an extract from an article by Garga Chatterjee in Firstpost of July 31, 2016:

“The reason that the Union government of India does not want to stop subsidising Air India and divest it is because that will stop the use of Air India as a tool of politics. Air India is subsidised by people of all states of the Indian Union in proportion to the revenue such states produce. Which is why Kolkata and Chennai, both major metros and capitals of states where none of the so-called national parties namely Congress and BJP have held power in the last nearly 50 years or have any chance of winning power in the next 10 years, have no direct connectivity to London, in spite of the respective state government's long standing request on this. Contrast this to the direct flight to London from Gujarat's Ahmedabad, announced by the ex-Chief Minister of Gujarat and the present Prime Minister of the Indian Union during his pubic rally amongst cheering NRIs in the Wembley stadium of London. 

Aren't route announcements supposed to be matters of Air India's corporate policy and not a matter of political decision making and announcements? How does Union government get to politically decide where to spend what money, which routes to start where, when the money for Air India comes from all the states of the Indian Union? Air India is a sign of the Union government's limitless power and control over resources of the Indian Union. It is time that the Union government leaves our resources in the states along and stops the present waste of public resources, including indirect subsidies, by selling off Air India to the highest bidder. In a federal democratic republic, the people shouldnt be forced to fund a white elephant called the Maharajah.”

NOTE: Emphasis supplied

On another subject, the CMD recently stated that the single most important Department in Air India is the Human Resources Department.   In line with this, he has also articulated, that All Departments and Employees are equally important in the successful running of AI. This perception is radically different from the legacy mindset, where Pilots, Engineers and Cabin Crew were considered to be vitally important to the successful running of the airline.

I have very respectfully to disagree with this assessment.  What role did this Department play during the merger?  It should have been the “leading light” and worked to the benefit of the employees.  Yet, To quote only one example, it took almost 8 years to bring parity in the medical benefits of retired staff of the two airlnes.

Another example is The extreme delay is the parity of pilots’ emoluments of the two airlines.  On top of that, is the recent stricture paid by the Indian Supreme Court - read below:

“The Supreme Court on Friday came down heavily on national carrier Air India for repeatedly seeking adjournments in a case involving pay and related matters of pilots and cabin crew.

The apex court was angry after the lawyer representing the petitioners (pilots and cabin crew) said that Air India has sought 21 adjournments citing Attorney General (AG) Mukul Rohatgi's absence.”

Source: International Business Times - Aug 26, 2016

21 adjournments because the airline is not ready with its response.  What has the HR Department been up to?

Contrast this attitude of the CMD with those of two eminent former Chairmen of the airlines:

1. ACM P.C. Lal  served as General Manager of Indian Airlines and later as Chairman of both AI and IA.  During his tenure at IA, he was rumored to hold an unfavorable view of Air-India, particularly the Commercial Department.  Imagine my surprise when after he became our Chairman and had spent a few months in office and visiting many stations, he said to me “I have always felt that the Engineering Department of an airline is the most important Department as they had to produce an aircraft on time.  I am now convinced that in Air-India, it is the Commercial Department that is required to work the hardest.  Inder, carry on and rest assured that you have my whole hearted support”.
2. Interestingly and coincidentally, JRD Tata held similar views and here I quote:  “Despite my special interest in airplanes and the technical aspect of operating them, I have always felt and said, that the Commercial Department of an airline was the most important of all if only because it is the only one that earns money while every other spends it”.

Finally and to end this Post, I quote from the Quint of May 24, 2016:

“Yes, Air India’s Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani feels the airline’s fortunes will change if the pilots say Jai Hind in their announcement before take off.”

Is this an autonomous Corporation or an arm of the Government?  From what is stated in the foregoing paragraphs, I guess the latter.

Sycophancy continues to live and flourish in the Modi Raj just as it did in the Gandhi Dynasty Raj.

Jai Hind.

AI UNDER Mr. LOHANI

(PART 1 OF 2 PARTS)

It has been about a year since Mr. Lohani took over as CMD of the airline from Mr. Rohit Nandan and perhaps, it is time to review the performance of the airline during this period.

Let’s start with the financial results for the year 2015/16.  We have only seen unaudited figures where initially, the airline indicated an operating profit of Rs. 8 crores and then recently raised it to about Rs. 100 crores.  there has been no explanation for this change, but the Ministry and the airline have taken credit for this so-called turnaround.

It is interesting to note here that the Air India’s website does not show its financial results for the last TWO years - 2014/15 and 2015/16.  Understandably, the audited figures for 2015/16 are still being determined, but why have the results for 2014/15 not been officially declared even after 17 months of the closing of the financial year?

There are a few articles - quoted below - which should raise some eyebrows.

Firstly, an article in The Quint of August 20, 2016 which states:

The government estimates that Air India’s net loss will narrow to Rs 2,636 crore in financial year 2015-16, but analysts suggest that it is largely due to the decline in fuel costs which shored up operating profits for all airline operators.

Air India’s operational profits, analysts say, could also be the result of falling fuel prices and deferment of expenses in the FY 2015-16.

The article goes on to quote Mr. Kapil Kaul, CEO - South Asia, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation:

“Deferment of expenses may be key to delivering operating profits. Lower service levels, asset productivity, and customer engagement continue to be a challenge and need to be addressed to ensure structural improvement.”

Secondly, an article by Sindhi Bhattacharya in Firstpost on July 26, 2016, which reads:

….According to sources, Air India’s spend on fuel declined from about Rs 8,500 crore in 2014-15 to a little over Rs 5,700 crore in 2015-16. This means a saving of about Rs 2,800 crore straight away. Then, income from sale & leaseback activity was up by about Rs 500 crore. If we add the two figures — fuel savings and income from sale & leaseback — we get about Rs 3,200 crore. The actual improvement in EBIDTA for 2015-16 was over Rs 2,800 crore. From these figures, one might infer that the airline was worse off in 2015-16 since it did not show all the savings — from lower fuel prices and sale & leaseback—as operational profit.

Coupled to the above is an article in Livemint (May 19, 2016) which adds another factor to the picture - passenger revenue actually DECLINED marginally; a fact that the Minister failed to inform the general public.

The deferment of expenses, while it may help the airline and the Ministry in showing a better financial picture, actually hurts the airline in the long run.

This is evident from the numerous complaints about the sad state of the interior of the aircraft.  Here, reference is made to the following complaints highlighted in recent press articles - a few are quoted below:

1. Don’t fly 300 passenger between destinations without AC.
2. Get the rats off your flights as well as lizards.
3. Broken seat back on 48K
4. Emergency buttons in 7 out of the 14 toilets do not work
5. Dirty tray area, broken chairs, torn storage space, life. jackets falling ahead in leg space area.

The Quint, in an article dated August 20, 2016  stated that “during checks, officials realized that out of the 66 international aircraft that they fly, the seats of a good 40 percent are unserviceable, causing inconvenience to passengers”.

Sindhu Bhattacharya in Firstpost of July 26, 2016, sums it up beautifully (cruelly for the airline) - “As per the DGCA data, the number of complaints against Air India in June exceeded those which were received against market leader IndiGo, Vistara, AirAsia India and SpiceJet together. Since customer service issues are almost a third of all complaints received against Indian airlines, it would be fair to say that there were most complaints in this regard from Air India last month among all domestic airlines.”

AND WE HAVE A MINISTER AND CMD WHO WANT TO RESTORE AIR-INDIA TO ITS FORMER GLORY!!!!!!

DO THEY EVEN KNOW THE MEANING OF THE WORD “GLORY”??????

The same article stated that the Engineering Department has been given the target of year-end to completely makeover the seats.  What has this Department been doing all these years?

Would it be a tongue in the cheek remark to state that the expenses involved in making all necessary repairs will again be part of some “creative financing” so that the airline can show better operating profits in the year 2016/17?

Sometime in 1978 or 1979, Gautam Khanna of the East India Hotel chain and Mercury Travels asked if I had developed a shadow.  When I expressed my surprise, he mentioned that at every Travel Industry gathering, he had noticed that I was followed everywhere by a young man who also “happened to be the GSA of various airlines”.

On reflection, I realized that this “young man” was none other than the former clerk of Air France’s GSA who had made a bid for Air-India’s GSA in North India and about whom I have spoken in one of my previous Posts.  And yes, he had been following me doggedly for quite some time.

This Clerk (TC) first came to my sister’s house in New Delhi where my family and I were visiting on one of my annual vacations.  He said that he wanted my advice on a subject and took the opportunity of my visit to Delhi to meet me. Out of sheer politeness, I asked him to stay and have lunch.  After lunch, my children wanted to play an impromptu game of cricket and I asked him to join in, little realizing that he had not a clue about the game; he did not even know how to hold the cricket bat.

Without realizing it, I must have given him some encouragement because the next thing I knew was that he showed up at my in-laws’ farm in Kashipur in Uttar Pradesh where we were spending the rest of our annual vacation.  He wanted to follow up on the advice that I had given him and stayed a couple of days and then left back for Delhi.

On another occasion, I made travel plans to visit Manila where the PATA Board was holding a meeting.  I was a member of this Board and hence, my decision to travel to Manila.  Guess what - I found TC on the same SABENA flight.  When I asked him if indeed he was following me, he replied - “No.  I am the country manager for Philippine Airlines and am visiting Manila on business.  I was not aware that you would be on the same flight”.

I mentioned these three incidents to Gautam and he stated that the coincidences were a bit remarkable, to say the least. 

After that, I made it a point to try and avoid this persistent young man, but to little avail.  He would call and request that my wife and I join him for dinner or attend a cocktail evening at a hotel.  While I resisted a few times, I had little option but to accept a few invitations such as a dinner for the visiting General Manager of Kuwait Airways, for whom he acted as GSA.

He was obviously keeping a tab on my travels because on one occasion, I found him in London when I was there.  When I confronted him, he said that his Company was the GSA for Philippine Airlines in the U.K. and his visit was in connection with that airline’s work.

On another occasion, I met him in New York and here I must relate  how I found him there.  A very old friend of mine had an apartment in Manhattan and he had invited me for dinner.  The only other guest was - you know who!!!  It appeared that he had “accidentally” bumped into this friend of mine; introduced himself as a friend of mine and managed to get himself invited to dinner. 

When my friend asked for my relationship with this young man, I mentioned that I did not consider him “a friend, but a little more than a business acquaintance”.  

Although I tried to keep my distance, fate decreed otherwise.  Early one morning, I received a frantic call from TC.  He had been picked up by the Enforcement Directorate and taken in for questioning.  He wanted immediate legal help and I called an acquaintance of mine who was a well established and experienced lawyer.  He managed to get him out and from what TC told me later, he was retained by him (TC) as his attorney for all legal matters.

TC became very emotional when he expressed his gratitude for my assistance.  First, he wanted me to meet his mother and then, insisted that I meet his financial backers who were diamond merchants from Gujarat and Belgium. I tried to keep in the background, but to no avail.  I had to meet his entire family on my next visit to Delhi and then met his main financial backer at his apartment in Bombay.

Our paths kept crossing and even more after I left Air-India, as will be evidenced in later Posts.

In fact, he wanted me to join him in his ventures instead of leaving the country and I gave him an emphatic “NO”.  I mentioned to him that I had observed his dealings with his staff and business acquaintances which gave me no joy.  Instead, I had little respect for him and that this view would hold good unless he changed his attitudes.  He looked crestfallen and promised to make changes to earn my respect.

Moving on, one of the first major subjects that I learnt when I joined Air-India was Interline Traffic and Baggage Handling Agreements.  These agreements had to be negotiated before airline A could accept travel documents of airline B or C.  Things may have changed since my time, but in those early days, we had two types of agreements - a Bilateral Agreement and a Multilateral Agreement; the latter being negotiated through IATA.

We preferred the multilateral approach since there was a standard agreement and when an airline signified its desire to enter into such an agreement, all AI had to do was to indicate acceptance.  It was the other airline’s responsibility to adhere to all provisions of IATA’s documentation and procedures.

I recall being approached by an airline from Mongolia to enter into an agreement and I responded by recommending that they use the multilateral approach.  They insisted on a bilateral agreement and then, this particular gentleman called me from Ulan Bator and in his halting and broken English conveyed to me that he wanted a face to face meeting as there were some issues which could not be resolved by correspondence.  I agreed and sent them a draft Bilateral Agreement after which I received a request for a meeting in Bombay.

He came on the appointed date and met me in my office.  We discussed the issues that were troubling him and he then signed the final agreement.  As a courtesy, I invited him for dinner at a restaurant, but he expressed a desire to have a home cooked Indian meal.  I had no recourse but to call Manju and have her prepare a meal that evening.  I picked him up at his hotel and brought him home.

Knowing that conversation with him would not be easy, I invited Amar Singh, a golfing friend and Saroj Datta to that dinner and fortunately, the evening went off quite well.  However, it was a unique experience which will always remain in my mind.

I was amused to see a circular from the AI CMD on “petty courtesies” wherein he asked that:

1. The practice of offering him bouquets be stopped; and

2. He be received and seen off by a minimal number of staff.

These “petty courtesies” were not part of the Air-India culture that I was witness to.  It didn’t exist during the Parsi Raj, The South Indian Raj and even during my short acquaintance with the Raghu Raj.  They are part of the legacy  inherited from the IAS and Babudom that descended upon the airline when Delhi started to run the airline and have continued ever since.

I do not remember bouquets of flowers being presented to any of our CEOs when he visited a station. 

Let the CMD look back on the day when he took over his new assignment.  I believe he was presented a bouquet of flowers as soon as he entered his new office.  Did his staff take his acceptance of this gift as a license to extend this courtesy every time he went to another station!!!!  Has it taken him a full year to realize the waste of expenditure on such a measure of sycophancy?  

I remember that we did have occasions when three or four members of the staff were present on arrival of senior executives at an outstation, but I also remember having personally curtailed this practice way back in 1978 or 1979.  I believe this practice originated when an insecure member of the staff thought that he/she should be seen by the senior executives whenever such executives visited his station of posting.

In any event, I commend the CMD on taking this step.  It may have its benefits in a political world but should not exist in a commercial undertaking.

The circular also reminded me of an incident which took place in Prague when Indira Gandhi was visiting Czechoslovakia and our then Manager - P.B. Dhar - arranged to send a large bouquet of flowers to her suite very morning.  When she complained that this was an unnecessary expense, Patrick Dhar informed her that the flowers actually came from his garden and that AI had not incurred any expense. He did have a beautiful garden in the Air-India house in Prague.

Which brings me to an aside.  P. B. Dhar’s middle initial stood for Basil and in one of his letters to Mr. S.K. Kooka, he signed his name as “Basil” to which Mr. Kooka is reported to have remarked “tell Dhar that I only recognize one Basil and he is Basil Gulati", who for many years was Mr. Kooka’s deputy with the title of Deputy Traffic Manager at Commercial headquarters before taking an overseas posting as Manager - Hong Kong.

Air-India participated in many revenue poling arrangements with various airlines and now, quite often, my unoccupied mind brings back happy memories of overseas visits to attend these and other meetings.

The very first pool meeting I attended was the tripartite meeting with BA and Qantas in Sydney where Tony Pinto was our Regional Director.  Tony was an avid golfer and he asked Saroj Datta and me to bring our golf clubs. We spent three weeks in Sydney and on every weekend, Tony was a most gracious host.  He invited Saroj and me for a round of golf not only on weekends, but also on a few afternoons when we had no meetings scheduled.  The fourth member of our group was Axel Khan, who was India’s Trade Commissioner in Australia.  

After our rounds in the mornings on weekends, we repaired to Tony’s home where his wife had laid out a sumptuous lunch at which all other members of the team were also invited.  It is sad to say that his immediate successor did not offer us any such courtesies. 

Stephen Rajaratnam was another gracious host whenever we met in Singapore for Pool meetings with BA, SIA and Qantas.  He arranged a quick lunch for us in his office on many days.  I personally benefitted from his hospitality.  He insisted that I stay at his house instead of the hotel which was his way of reciprocating our bachelor days’ hospitality whenever he visited Bombay.

I led the AI delegation to Moscow twice for Pool talks with Aeroflot; the first time in 1970 and the second time in 1972.  The first time was not very remarkable except for a few incidents:

1. Our delegation had arrived earlier that day from Bombay while I came in late at night from London where I was attending a meeting.  The bedroom was more or less as I expected, but the bathroom left me quite speechless.  The towel was not much bigger than a large handkerchief; the toilet paper felt like sand paper (ouch!!) and there was no soap.
2. Being aware that the other members of the delegation were housed in a row of rooms adjoining mine, I knocked on my neighbour’s door.  A hand came out bearing a cake of soap.  I was later told that since the other members of the team had been to Moscow on an earlier occasion, they came well prepared.  
3. We had a rather exhilarating evening when, while well lubricated with vodka supplied by our host airline, we danced on the streets of Moscow - till today, I am surprised that we were not picked up by the local constabulary.  
4. Another incident of interest was when we visited Lenin’s Tomb.  Leela Talchekar was dressed in a sari and when we stood at the end of a line which must have stretched round the entire block, we were approached by a person in military uniform and escorted to the front of the line.  We could not understand what he said, except for one word “tourist” which he kept repeating.  Our Manager later told us that tourists got special consideration in preference to locals.

What was of great interest to us and an eye opener was the cleanliness of their subways.  Smoking was not permitted and the platforms were superb.  One was all pink marble; another had beautiful chandeliers and so on. 

On the sad and depressing side was the shortage of food.  If we wanted eggs with our breakfast, we had to order room service.  You could not be seen eatings eggs in the main dining room.  Then, while the dinner menu was huge, most of the items were not available.  On our first night, I looked at the large number of chicken dishes and ordered one only to be told by the waiter “Nyet”.  

My next selection elicited the same response and this carried on until my entire team (being old hands at visits to Moscow) burst out in laughter and advised me to ask the waiter which dish was available and that turned out to be what everyone of us ate - there was only one type of chicken dish that was served in the dining room.  

On the second visit, we were truly and very hospitably treated by Aeroflot.  They entertained us for lunches and dinners in private rooms at various hotels, away from the prying eyes of the general public.  They took us to see Swan Lake at the Bolshoi, arranged for us tickets to go to the Circus which was fascinating and then arranged a trip for the delegation to visit Leningrad (now St. Petersburg).  Unfortunately, Saroj Datta and I could not take advantage of this great opportunity as I received a message from Mr. Kooka asking us to return to Bombay for an urgent meeting.

Incidentally, I can swear that I have not tasted ice cream to match the one I ate at the circus.  Many years later when I was comparing travel notes with a former Indian Ambassador, he also commented that the ice cream he had eaten in Moscow was unmatched any where in the world.

We came back to Bombay, via Geneva as there was no direct flight back to Bombay and were seen off on the Aeroflot flight by their Commercial Director who, in his wisdom, arranged VIP treatment by placing our baggage between the first row of seats and the bulkhead (Saroj and I sat in the second row).  On landing in Geneva, we proceeded to Immigration and Customs only to discover after a considerable wait that our baggage was missing.

At that point, our Airport Manager rushed to the aircraft which was ready for departure and retrieved our bags from the front row.  So much for Russian VIP treatment.

The British never did anything special for us when we visited London where we invariable stayed at the Strand Palace until their rates went up so high that we could not manage within our daily allowance.  At that particular time, we did not have the facility where under accommodation was arranged and paid for by AI with us getting 50% of the D.A.

On one occasion, our London office found us rooms at the Grosvenor Hotel.  When I mentioned this hotel to Mr. Kooka, he expressed astonishment as he doubted that our D.A. would cover the cost of the rooms.  I then enlightened him by saying that this was not the Grosvenor House in Mayfair, but the Grosvenor on top of Victoria Station.

Our delegation arrived at the hotel and we were given 5 rooms of which four were on the 5th floor while the sixth member of our team was accommodated on the 6th floor.  We  were directed to the lift which was operated by an attendant by pulling down a rope.  When we reached the 5th floor, four of us exited and the attendant told the 5th member of our team to also get off and take the stairs to the next floor.

When I entered my room, I found it quite large and the bathroom to be of equal size.  However, there was no toilet and a small placard indicated me to use one of the 2 toilets located at opposite ends of the floor.

I immediately called our Regional Director and in no uncertain terms informed him to get us out of this hotel and find us decent accommodations.  He was flabbergasted to learn of our experience and gave his Executive Assistant a good dressing down.  Shortly thereafter, we were advised that we had rooms in a new hotel off High Street Kensington and also that two cars would be sent to our hotel to help us move.  We checked out immediately and transferred to this new hotel which by comparison was a true luxury hostelry; the cost just under our limits.

Mr. Appusamy was a member of the IATA Executive Committee when he took over as our M.D.  He asked me to accompany him for a meeting of some members of this committee hosted by BA in London.  Unfortunately, for both of us, the host airline forgot to take into account that neither of us ate beef which was served as the entree.  We had to make do with salad and dessert.  It was disappointing that having ruled India for so long, the British did not understand this affront to our religion.  I mentioned the incident to David Lowe, the BA Manager in Bombay, on my return.  He must have written to his Head Office as we got a written apology from their CEO.