Air India handover: Tata Sons chairman may meet PM Modi at 4pm today

Chairman of Tata Sons N Chandrasekaran is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 4 pm today after all the government representatives of Air India will tender their resignations at 2:30 pm. Civil Aviation Ministry, Air India and Tata Group officials will meet at the Airlines house at 2:30 pm and a ceremonial handover of Air India will take place at Air India headquarters in Delhi.   The board meeting to formalise an agreement between Air India and Tata Group regarding the same is also likely to take place later in the day. If all goes as per plan, the passengers will get to experience a sea change in the services of Air India. Here are the changes that the flyers will get to experience first hand

• Ratan Tata’s message for passengers: If everything goes as per plan, there will be changes in Air India’s in-flight announcements. Passengers will hear the voice of Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of the Tata Group. A special address by the philanthropist and industrialist will be played on flights.
• Upgraded meal plans: There will be changes in meal plans on Mumbai-Delhi, Mumbai-Abu Dhabi, Mumbai-Bengaluru, Mumbai-Newark and Mumbai-London routes. The meal upgradation plan was made by the Taj Group-led catering service for airlines Taj SATS. Flights like AI 864 BOM-DEL, AI 687 BOM-DEL, AI 945 BOM-AUH, AI 639 BOM-BLR will witness these changes from January 27 whereas flights like AI 191 BOM-EWR, AI 806 BOM-DEL, AI 809 BOM-DEL, AI 660 BOM-DEL, AI 888 BOM-DEL, AI 867 BOM-DEL will witness these changes from January 28. Flights like AI 268 BOM-DEL and AI 131 BOM-LHR will witness these changes from January 29.
• SOP for meal service: Cabin crew have also been informed that beverage services will have to be conducted as per the standard operating procedure (SOP) before each meal. This includes using service trolley for beverage service in the First and Business classes and bar cart with soft drink service in Economy class.
• High ball, wine glasses and melamine cups: Cabin crew have also been instructed to serve beverages in high ball and wine glasses to business and first class passengers. They have also been told to use melamine cups to serve tea and coffee in economy class and porcelain cups for business and first passengers.
• Newspapers and magazines for passengers: Newspapers and magazines shall be offered to first class and business class passengers prior to take-off and should be displayed in magazine racks for those travelling economy class.
• Blankets and pillows for economy class: While 50 blankets must be reserved for use on demand by economy class passengers, duvets/blankets and pillows should be ensured for those travelling business class and first class.
• Smartly dressed: Cabin crew will be expected to be “smartly dressed, adhering to regulations”, according to an internal communication sent to the cabin crew. Another such communication read, “Cabin crew are important brand ambassadors playing a critical role in brand/image building.” The cabin crew has also been apprised of body mass index (BMI) and weight checks by ‘grooming associates’ before flights.
• Passengers to be guests: The Air India management has also asked the cabin crew to supervise the safety standards and service quality provided to the guests. The cabin crew have been asked to address passengers as “guests”.
• On-time performance: Air India management has also highlighted the importance of on-time performance in an internal note. The note read, “All endeavours to close doors at D minus 10 minutes.”

(With inputs from Poulomi Saha and Karishma Asoodani)

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