IA denies discount to elders

MUMBAI, March 23: If you have just turned 65 and plan to avail of Indian Airlines' scheme offering discounted fares to senior citizens, forg...

MUMBAI, March 23: If you have just turned 65 and plan to avail of Indian Airlines’ scheme offering discounted fares to senior citizens, forget it. The national carrier ran out of identity cards three months ago and is turning away hundreds of disappointed applicants. While the airline claims it has been hit by a sudden shortage of ID cards which entitle senior citizens to travel on any of the airline’s routes at half the basic fare, sources in IA say it is part of the carrier’s austerity drive to cut ballooning expenditure.

"All our ticket booking offices, including those at Air India building and Mumbai airport, are flooded with hundreds of applications from senior citizens. But a severe shortage has forced us to stop issuing identity cards which entitle holders to the discount," a booking clerk told Express Newsline."We hope stocks will be released by our head office in Delhi in April. But next time, please inquire in advance before turning up at the booking office… you know how long these thingstake," the clerk told Mrs T Correia, whose application had been turned down twice before. Correia turned 65 in December 1997, and thought she would treat herself to a vacation in Goa. "I had applied for an identity card at Indian Airline’s booking office at Air India building in February, after friends told me it would be processed pretty quickly here," she explained.

"I had planned to fly to Goa twice after that but airline officials bluntly refused to offer any discount as I did not possess an ID card. I even produced my passport and other proof of my age, but they did not relent," a dejected Correia said.

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Robin Rajan, another senior citizen, was less charitable. "The whole scheme is a farce. If the government or any organisation extends such benefits, it is only because of the respect we deserve from society, to which we have given our lives," he fumed. "It is the authorities’ duty to maintain and replenish stocks. I have inquired over the telephone about five times, but I finally decided to check itout in person today. Senior citizens are not asking for any favours," Rajan retorted. "If the airline is in a financial rut, it had better scrap the scheme rather than humiliate us," he added.

With IA offering senior citizens a cool 50 per cent discount on the basic fare on each of its routes, sources claim the management has created an artificial shortage of ID cards to minimise losses. While the airline has registered a profit during the current financial year, it has put the skids on expenditure on all its activities. The airline has also frozen recruitment since 1992 to curtail bloating establishment costs.

While admitting to the ID card shortage, a spokesman for the domestic airline said stocks would be replenished soon. "If senior citizens still have grievances, they can contact our reservation department at the airport office. We regret the inconvenience caused to them," he stated.