meek-investor

Apparently men are heavier than women.  Did you know that ?  In many parts of the globe, that is probably true, but in India ?? Can you believe that Rajalakshmi, she of the considerable proportions, is inferior to Ramamritham, when it comes to the weight stakes ?? I somehow, seriously doubt that. But not, it appears GoAir, an India based airline.  This is the news from GoAir , that set off this post. Cabin attendants, flight attendants, stew, whatever name you wish to call them, are predominantly women, everywhere in the world. It all started in the initial days of flying. A pretty young air hostess was part of the decor of the plane. Nervous travelers, usually pot bellied men, could relax by looking at a smiling pretty face. As the years went by, the pot bellied business traveler remained the same, at least pot belly wise, but the nervousness disappeared. The flight attendants meanwhile aged, and age discrimination laws in the US and Europe ensure that these days its a m...

There are some ideal moments to observe humanity. From a sidewalk cafe in the heart of Paris on a warm summers day. From the stands at Eden Gardens, or Anfield, or Madison Square Gardens - pick your sport. Or in an Indian train. Another such classic place is when an aeroplane lands. Regular readers of this blog are aware of this blogger's fixation with air travel and this piece will come as no surprise, especially after this and this . As soon as the wheels touch the ground, humanity inside the plane wakes up and warms up. He may have been snoring just a moment ago, but he's wide awake now and is starting to limber up. The hand goes to the pocket and out comes the mobile phone. Its discreetly switched on and is sort of kept hidden between the legs, lest the pretty stew frowns on him and tells him to switch off. However the music on start up or the various pings rather give him away - such auditory masterpieces emanating close to an unfortunate part of the anatomy is brushed asi...

It’s the end of the year and the holiday mood needs a light irreverent post. Its not a holiday around here, but since the rest of the world has caught holiday fever, we have “embraced” it as well. Airlines are notorious for doing fairly dumb things – I think the rarified air in which they fly does some things to the brain cells. I had blogged about Ryanair’s idea of charging to use the toilet s. But what All Nippon Airways (ANA) did in October takes the cake. In October they ran an experiment. This was apparently an idea to reduce carbon emissions. If you were to board an All Nippon Airways flight, this would be your experience. As you queued up to board the flight, you would be met by a pleasant airline lady in uniform. Sayonara. Would you please go to the loo before you board the plane ? Its just over there. I’ll show you the way !! In a brain dead piece of PR, ANA gave the following justification. The average human bladder capacity is apparently 15 oz. Apparently that totals to an ...

Of all the markets in the markets in the world, one of the most nonsensically regulated is the air travel market. Countries are still clinging on to the antiquated notion that somehow national interests are involved in the aviation sector and “national airlines”, however dinosaur like they may be, must be propped up. This post is prompted by the news that Germany has asked Emirates to raise its business class fares for flights out of Germany. Emirates, faced with big fines, has been forced to raise its rates by some 20%. Airlines flying in and out of Germany are policed by the unfortunately named Federal Office for Goods Transport. This august body has written to Emirates saying it was “not allowed to engage in price leadership" on routes out of Germany to non-EU countries. Apparently it was acting under a law used in cases where "public transport interests are being permanently damaged". Apparently European carriers can indulge in “price leadership”. Only non EU airli...

The words "appalling" and "airlines" are synonymous in the language (allegedly English) spoken in the US of A. It wasn't that way some time ago. Pan Am was synonymous with "wonderful", as long as it flew. It was THE airline in the US. Unfortunately it went bankrupt in 1991. But the brand is still powerful amongst a certain generation (not comprising readers of this blog !). Those with a taste for nostalgia, which prompted this post, click here  . No amount of vitriol can be considered excessive when it comes to US airlines. All of them are uniformly awful. Extreme masochism can be the only excuse for condemning somebody to a flight on an American airline. The worst airports in the world are all in the US. From the moment you enter to check in, to the time you get out at your destination, it is pure torture. Inside the US, you have no choice but to reconcile to extreme pain, but it beats me as to why anybody flies long haul in an US airline when other o...

One of the undisputed pleasures in life is when you enter an aircraft and turn left instead of right. For all of us not privileged to be in that position, we can console ourselves that only an idiot would fly first class these days. Its obscenely expensive. HORRENDOUSLY so. And what do you get for it ? - A flat bed, which is now pretty much standard in business - The oldest stew in the crew on the grounds that the seniormost serves First Class. The prettiest ones can meanwhile be found in business. - Some unpronounceable wine. Alright that might be a real goodie. I don't know. Le embrouille blogueur might ! - Same average food - served on nice cutlery. - A nightsuit that you can change into to sleep,that looks a bit like the stuff you buy at the end of Commercial Street / Ranganathan Street / Shangxiajie lu - A toileteries kit that's no different from business and increasingly looking like the stuff the state barber uses on the roadside. Thats it. For this privilege you pay so...

I had some superb experiences with Air India - the erstwhile Indian Airlines part of it - during my recent trip to India. Readers of this blog would remember that I have been scathing in criticizing Air India here . But praise must be given where its due. So here goes. I flew Air India on two extremely short haul domestic sectors last week. Had a brilliant experience on both flights. Fares were the lowest amongst all airlines flying that sector. Check in took 2 minutes. Both flights were far from full; so had empty seats next to me. The aircraft on this route was one used for international sectors – spotlessly clean, brightly coloured seats with individual TV screens even in economy. Both flights took off 15 minutes before time (now that’s a first. I have never ever experienced flights departing before time). The cabin crew were smartly dressed and very courteous. Even on the very short haul, there were nice snacks. Courteous enquiries as to whether they could get anything else. The sm...