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visited him at Air India’s Bangalore office. With a sense of regret he said, ‘Sir, I wish I had heeded your advice.’

CHAPTER TWO
    clipped wings
    IN THE MID-1980s, the only bright spot—even as Air India found itself buffeted by a host of pressures on several fronts—was its in-flight experience. While the airline resembled a crumbling edifice on almost every front, its in-flight service appeared to hold on to the exemplary standards of the past. Passengers rarely, if ever, found fault with the food, champagnes or the wines on offer on board the flight, or the service of the cabin crew. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the overall in-flight experience made up for the other shortcomings of the airline.
    THE LAST BASTION
    The reason the in-flight service had managed to retain some of its glory was that earlier managements had placed great emphasis on aligning the product features and services with passenger expectations and benchmarking the airline with the best in the business. Whether it was sacrificing premium seats in its B747-200 jumbo aircraft to create an exclusive lounge for its first class passengers or paying attention to the menu for its passengers, the airline’s management had done everything to make passengers feel special and at home. The cabin crew had been deeply committed to the task—especially the air hostesses, who had been concerned about passenger comfort and the image of the airline. The crew had contributed in a large measure to the character of the airline, thanks to their high adherence to ethics in the workplace. It helped that the airline industry had been a profession much sought after and that Air India was an employer of choice for many during those years.
    Air India had also had a rigorous and exacting training programme that had been drawn up by a team of dedicated air hostesses and pursers under J. R. D. Tata’s discerning tutelage. Moreover, it had been meticulous in the manner in which it had conducted its recruitment for these posts. The airline had thus worked with a double advantage: not only had it attracted the best talent, it had also groomed them in accordance with the best traditions of Indian hospitality. The cabin crew of Air India had thus come to be known as the best in the business. The reputation of Air India’s in-flight service had been such that the airline had helped Singapore Airlines train its cabin crew in the late 1960s. Current celebrities such as Parmeshwar Godrej and Maureen Wadia, among others, had been a part of the Air India crew and had added to the glamorous image of the airline.
    Air India’s standards of service, although in decline, were still considered to be one of the best during the 1980s. Film stars, industrialists and the top brass of the corporate world preferred to fly Air India because of the care that distinguished its in-flight experience, especially in the first and business classes. Such was the prestige the airline enjoyed that some passengers even changed their travel schedules to suit those of Air India. Even a single air hostess who had been exposed to the training and grooming of the previous era was enough to ensure that the experience offered on board a flight was exemplary. As a result, by the late 1980s, even as the signs of decay were increasingly evident, the In-flight Services Department was still earning encomiums, though not on the same scale that it had done a decade ago. And a comment commonly aired by its passengers was, ‘Once in the air, Air India is the best.’
    FALLING STANDARDS
    Once Air India’s top management changed in the late 1970s, the organisational work culture underwent a sea change. The new leaders adopted an indifferent attitude towards in-flight services, treating it on par with other functions. The eligibility criteria for aspirants to a job as a crew member were not imposed rigorously, and new recruits were not given adequate and rigorous training.
    The recruitment process,