New Delhi: The Civil Aviation Ministry has decided to gift all its former secretaries lifelong free air ticket upgrades to first class on Air India.
The family members of former secretaries will also get the free tickets, which will cost the near bankrupt airline a lot of money.
The Civil Aviation Ministry circular available with CNN IBN states that "facility of upgradation of ticket for self and immediate family for travel to the highest class available by Air India subject to availability of seats".
About 24 former secretaries stand to gain from this generous offer by the Ministry.
Top civil aviation authorities say there is no money involved but Air India sources say the upgrades come at a cost to the company
Airlines earn the most through higher class tickets.
An economy ticket for Delhi to London costs about Rs 30,000 but a first class ticket for the same route would cost over Rs 1 lakh.
So there is a substantial loss of revenue.
There's also fear that such facilities could be misused. Some suggest that even private airlines like Jet and Kingfisher should be made to bear this burden.
"Why only Air India has to bear the brunt of all the losses. If they have done good work, yes. They are not the secretaries only for Air India. They are the secretaries of Civil Aviation Ministry of India," says Captain SS Panesar, former director of Flight Safety, India Airlines.
Moreover, the former secretaries will also get airport access passes, VIP parking at all airports and free use of all VIP lounges.
Retired employees were denied their right to upgrade last year with the airline suffering considerable losses are feeling let down.
Some of them also plan to protest the new circular.
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