Air India & Indian Airlines merged earlier today, the Prime Minister and others made spirited speeches & the airlines slapped on a new page on their existing websites. Will we, the travelers, get a halfway decent deal out of this whole initiative. Not likely. Unfortunately, this is one subject on which my natural sunny optimism gives way to a deep-down cynicism. Much prior experience has convinced me that governments should not be let anywhere near a service business (or any other business for that matter).
To find out why governments behave the way they do (and private enterprise they way they do), I would recommend “Systems of Survival” by Jane Jacobs. Not just an illuminating exposition, but a bloody engaging read.
Here is my previous post on Air India.
Did you know that Air India started as Tata Airlines in 1932? It was started by JRD Tata with his solo flight from Karachi to Bombay to carry mail.