New Delhi: With aim to save wastage and extra expenses, Air India has decided not to serve non-veg foods to economy class passengers in its domestic flights from mid-June this year. In a statement issued by Air India it is said that the decision to cut wastage and cost has been taken to avoid mix-up of vegetarian with non-vegetarian meals. It also eliminates the possibility of mix-up: a non-veg meal getting served to a vegetarian passenger, as it had happened a few times in the past. But the national air carrier clarified that non-vegetarian meals would continue to be served in business and executive class on domestic as well as international flights. Replying to a question, why no non-veg in only economy class, a spokesperson of Air India told UNI that it’s most of the passengers travel in economy class only. The number of business and executive class passengers is very low, so the wastage part is almost nil in the said category.
That’s why we spared these classes. The spokesperson again clarified that most of the business and executive class passengers indicate their choice of food in advance and rarely change in onboard. But in case of economy class, very few passengers give their option and a large number of passengers change it once they get boarded. So the problem is with economy class. To a query on how much Air India will save with its decision not to serve non-veg foods in economy class, the spokesperson said that it will be approximately Rs 8 crores per annum which is a good amount keeping the economic health of the airlines in mind. He said that Air India is considering various option of cost cutting, saving and generating money. “One of the idea is to auction painting purchased by the airlines in past as it has huge value and is not a productive asset. Air India board will consider this also and take a decision on it soon,” he said. He said that a lot of suggestions have come to the national air carrier on cost cutting and these are being examined in the process to make the operations more viable.
