One of the worst kept secrets in government-owned Air India is the number of free upgrades that are extended to a variety of people, from MPs to their spouses and children to anyone who knows a senior official or the civil aviation minister. Now that the government has agreed to pour Rs 30,000 crore of taxpayer money into the airline over a number of years, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has decided to stop taking requests for upgrades and instructed his officials to do likewise. As a result, the number of free upgrades in the airline has dropped by a steep 75 per cent. The cynical view is that this tough decision reflects the minister’s chances of returning to the ministry in the next elections.
