I like travelling on Air India. It may sound strange to some of you, and I recognize when I talk about it, I'm in a minority. J Many people have many grouses about travelling on Air India. But, I have come to terms with some of the things they cannot give and I'm quite happy with what I'm able to get from Air India – a comfortable seat, fair amount of leg room so that when the person in front of me reclines, he/she is not sitting in my lap. And I've always loved the food on Air India. It's served well, the service is so nice and I do enjoy the non-vegetarian fare.
But, in December 2015, Air India announced that on its shorter flights (less than 90 minutes) they would not serve non-veg food. While I was very disappointed, I thought that it might make sense on short flights for the staff not to have to ask each passenger their choice of veg or non-veg. it would be more efficient. So, I accepted that reluctantly, I must say. But last week, when they announced that on all domestic flights, they were going to take away non-veg, I felt very bad. One of the main reasons why I like Air India is the service and the food, and I felt that it was being taken away from me.
This made me think about the decision. I started to read about it to see what kind of business sense this could make. I couldn't quite understand it as it didn't make sense to me that they were trying to save Rs. 8 to 10 crores by not serving non-veg on domestic sectors when their total debt was Rs. 52,000 crores. And they were trying to cut the non-veg, something that was giving them an edge in the industry over others. I know other airlines also serve non-veg, but according to me, Air India had a definite edge. Why would you take away something that was an asset, while not even making a dent in the debt overall. Why would you "bite the hand that feeds you?"
Interestingly, I found an article that talked about the vegetarian and non-vegetarian population in India. According to the sample registration system baseline survey of 2014 by the Registrar General of India, 71% of Indians over the age of 15 are non-vegetarian. That's quite a high percentage! And one would be actually harming the 71% of people who would have travelled Air India because of the non-veg food. And you would be automatically inviting them to look elsewhere because you are no longer serving it. Couldn't get my head around understanding this. But I will also quickly add that there could be a strong case for this decision that eludes my superficial understanding of how Air India handles its outstanding debt.
Steven Covey made a comment many years ago: "Anything less than a conscious commitment to the important is an unconscious commitment to the unimportant." It made me think not just about Air India (moving away from Air India now) but about ourselves and ask the question: "Are we beginning to major on the minors in our life?" We focus on the things that are not really that important. And by doing that, we are unconsciously giving importance to the unimportant.
It reminded me of a passage when Jesus was talking to the religious scholars and telling them that they had it all wrong. He said, "You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get. But on the meat of God's law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment - the absolute basics! – you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. Do you have any idea how silly you look, writing a life story that's wrong from start to finish, nitpicking over commas and semicolons?
Harsh words! Yet so true. I thought to myself, as I moved away from Air India, I wonder if I am guilty of moving away from the basics that are really important in my life, settling on the peripherals and losing sight of purpose and focus and all the things that are so important. I felt that it was something that I needed to share with you on Corporate Capsules. Can we do a check of our lives today and ask ourselves the question: Am I majoring on the minors, or do I still have a good focus on the priorities that I should be involved with?
I'm going to leave you with that question, but want to end with praying for you.
Almighty God, on each one who reads this post, I pray Your blessing first. I pray that You would bless each one abundantly. Then I pray for wisdom, wisdom for each one to ask the hard questions of our lives and answer them honestly. If there needs to be any course corrections or realignments, I pray that we would have the moral conviction to be able to do it and that You would help us to accomplish it. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
· Rezwan, "No Non-Veg on Air India Flights: Cost-Saving or Political Move?" http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/no-non-veg-on-air-india-flights-cost-saving-or-political-move-117071200219_1.html
· "Dishing It Out," http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/dishing-it-out-air-indias-decision-to-serve-only-vegetarian-meals-to-economy-class-4744830/
· Adrija Bose, "Vegetarian India a Myth?" http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/06/14/how-india-eats_n_10434374.html
· Stephen R. Covey quote: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7138017-anything-less-than-a-conscious-commitment-to-the-important-is
· Biblical Reference : Matthew 23:23-24 MSG
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