Saving Air India: Don’t leave it up to the govt; here’s what you can do to keep Maharaja alive

I write this with a lot of hope. A hope that this will arouse national pride in the moribund Maharaja and a hope that the same can be used to give it back its wings. It’s important each Indian, flying or otherwise, starts taking the same pride in the national carrier’s mascot as they did earlier. Nothing represented India and Indianness globally more than The Maharaja.

Sad that the country’s most ubiquitous and recognisable symbol globally is lying on deathbed today. And sadder, we haven’t been able to do much about it. It is time we did something, and soon. Many would agree that Air India still offers the best flying experience within India. Those traveling abroad have to perforce fly a foreign airline. They do that, give them business out of compulsion, not a choice. It is not a nice feeling doing that. It seems — and I could be wrong here — that more airlines fail in India than elsewhere in the world.