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Apparently this fiasco has happened due to reduction in the number of wine glasses carried in each flight since Air India joined the Star Alliance network on July 11 last month. According to the report in Mid Day, whereas each aircraft reportedly carried 108 glasses during the pre-Alliance period, the national carrier has been able to carry only 36 glasses each, due an increase in the glass size. The new glasses are bigger, sport the Air India logo and can hold 400ml of wine as against 150 ml earlier.
"Last month, a tender for 2000 glasses was floated and the same have been procured and since loaded on to long-haul flights," a crew member said. About 100 passengers have reportedly complained about the issue in the last week alone. However, Air-India is looking at the complaints according to the Minister of State, Civil Aviation. Being a national carrier owned 100% by the government, it is directly under the control of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Although the CMD of Air India, Rohit Nandan has not commented on the issue, a senior executive of the airline has reportedly informed that originally, a single cart could consist of 6 drawers, each containing 18 small wine glasses. "With the bigger glasses, only 6 glasses per drawer are being loaded on board," he said. Crew members who had to face the irate passengers said the new glasses were better suited to serve lassi than wine.
"Usually not more than 150 ml of wine is served. The bigger glasses reflect a mindless arrangement," an airhostess reportedly said. A senior airhostess also admitted that the crew felt bad serving wine and champagne in the plastic glasses. "Refilling a single glass multiple times is problematic on long haul flights. Hence plastic glasses are the only alternative," she said. Economy class passengers who opt for wine have always been served in plastic glasses (a standard practice in most airlines globally-editor).
While it would be debatable if this could be construed as a deficiency in the promised service and there should be a call for a refund on these flights, or if the cases are fit for approaching the consumer courts for compensation for deficient service, it is strange the situation has come to such a pass. It would be really shameful if the airline were actually serving wine in the First and Business Class in the small 150 ml glasses (in which case the customer could of course, not complain of deficient service today).
It is equally strange that the airline would serve 150ml wine as a standard pour-this would not only have been resulting in undue wastage but assuming only premium wines were being served, they could not have been enjoyed to the level they should. Although it might mean a few extra trips for the air-hostesses, 125mL, the international de-facto standard, should be the standard size of pour. In any case, unlimited wine is served provided the customer does not get too inebriated.
It is quite amusing to hear about an air-hostess scoffing at the new 400 mL glasses as being ‘better suited to serve lassi than wine’. Hopefully said in jest, she might be perhaps surprised to know that a standard Classic Riedel Vinum Bordeaux glass can carry a little over 600 mL wine! And a maximum of 150 mL wine is served in this glass. This is not to say that 400 mL glasses are the minimum size the airline needed to buy. If the service pour were 125 mL, a 350 mL stemware glass could perhaps suffice. But that train has left the station with the glasses being already tendered and purchased. Of course, the glass size and the pour could also be a requirement of the Star Alliance to keep the wine service to a common minimum standard specification.
What is confounding also is the serving of champagne in plastic glasses now. Usually, there is no difference in the flute size of a champagne glass which is independent of the material of the glass. The report does not say what type of glasses were being used for serving champagne to first class passengers before and why has this changed?
It would be interesting to hear the viewpoint of the Air-India management or the crew regarding the wine service standards. From what the article suggests, possibly unfairly, the serving crew badly needs a bit more of wine education and training about wine service to bring it to at least the level of Star Alliance.
Tags: Air-India |