For nearly as long as I can remember—from the early 1970s at least—we have taken it for granted that Indians do not know how to run airlines. When foreign visitors came to our country we warned them about Indian Airlines. The flights will be late, we said. Expect the most minimal standards of service.
When we needed to travel abroad we steered clear of Air India. Everything about the airline was wrong. There were the delays of course, the engineering failures and the pilots who stalked off at the slightest pretext. But there were also the interminable queues at check-in, the rude ground staff, and the crap in-flight facilities.
BA’s decline is indicative of the collapse of service standards in Europe
I have to say that while I conceded that there was something to the criticism, I was never an Air India hater. It seemed almost unpatriotic to desert your national carrier. Even through its worst phases, it remained my airline of choice. But virtually nobody agreed with me. Rich friends laughed at the crappiness of Air India first class. Others preferred to fly European airlines to London, even if it meant changing planes in Paris, Frankfurt or Vienna rather than take one of Air India’s direct flights.
Each time I attempted to defend Air India, I was always pointed in the direction of British Airways (BA). Now, that was a proper airline! It was always on time! And the first class, my God, that was amazing!
I have never been a BA fan. The ground handling is on par with Air India’s, the in-flight service is cold and the airline truly does not give a damn about about the Indian passenger—that, at least, is my experience. Sure, the first class is terrific (or it was when I last flew it five years ago) but at those prices (up to 40% more than Air India) it bloody well better be.
Over the last year or so, I’ve noticed that even diehard BA loyalists are beginning to reconsider their positions. This will come as no surprise to Brits who treat their airline with the derision we reserve for our own Air India (such phrases as “national disgrace” are routinely employed) but Indians have—till recently, at least—remained more loyal than the Queen.
But BA has actually got pretty damned awful of late. It has learnt nothing from Virgin where Richard Branson’s PR makes up for the airline’s shortcomings and it has the worst PR of any airline flying to India (with the possible exception of one or two African airlines and those that fly the flags of former Soviet republics). Its PR in the UK is even worse: Just read the British papers.