An Air India pilot has caused outrage by posting a homemade rap video on YouTube decrying the decline of the airline and its aging air hostesses.
Captain Anjum Chabra is a first officer with the carrier’s now grounded Dreamliner fleet, reports the Mumbai Mirror. His five-minute video has received more than 90,000 views since it was first uploaded on Feb. 13 and includes lines like: “How do I fly with women in their 60s/ They call them air hostesses, we call them aunties.”
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The clip starts with Chabra preparing for work only to hear at the last moment that his flight has been canceled, prompting an angry rant at company bosses, his labor union and the declining airline industry in general. “I’m working Air India, I am in India, but not in the air,” he raps. “Is there anyone here who’s got some extra money to spare?”
State-run Air India is the nation’s fourth largest airline by market share but has struggled in recent years to compete with private carriers. It also has a legacy of labor problems, referred to in the YouTube video with the line: “Where is ma union y have they fallen sick? [sic]”
Although Chabra includes the disclaimer: “Dear friends and fellow pilots, the following content is not meant to harm anyone’s feelings for the company,” the film has nevertheless drawn the ire of senior executives at the troubled airline. Air India chairman and managing director Rohit Nandan told reporters in New Delhi that Chabra has since “unconditionally apologized and promised to withdraw the video from the Internet site,” reports the Times of India.
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