Going by the stories where aircrafts are swapped to ensure Mantriji's family gets to sit in business class, I don't think there's any "freedom" lacking when it comes to deciding aircraft deployment.

I guess what they mean is lack of "right aircraft for the right route" or not having suitable aircrafts at hand to fly the kind of routes AI operates.

The '787 to Australia' saga being a good example in that regard. The thinking there seems to be "we have a new aircraft, and here's a destination we haven't flown to in ages.... kya kehte ho? chalein?"

Er, so does Air India. Talk of a tantrum if there ever was one. In AI land, the way to compete with private airlines is not by improving ones product, service delivery and perception, but blaming the fact that they too want a share of the same parantha. Especially ironic as AI was the sole purveyor of the said parantha for a long time.


Thank God for that. Else there won't be any decent way of getting to India from most of the rest of the world. Without running the gauntlet that is the AI schedule.