For a long time, it seems impossible to keep a bureaucrat and special treatment separate. During a recent personal trip to the United States on May 7, Rajiv Bansal, secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and his wife were upgraded from economy class to business class, according to the Indian Express on Saturday, May 14. Despite Air India being privatised earlier this January, this ‘special handling’ of a bureaucrat raised the hackles of many within India Inc.
Bansal’s tickets were not only upgraded to business class, but the original rates at which the tickets were purchased were cheaper than what other travelers paid.
It was only a day after the government decided to terminate Air India completely that Bansal became the secretary of the civil aviation ministry. Bansal is a 1988 batch IAS officer. In the past, he had served as the chairman-cum-managing director of Air India.
Several days before the Bansals were scheduled to board Air India flight AI-105 to Newark, New Jersey, an official from the Office of Chief Commercial Officer (CCO Nipun Aggarwal) sent an email to Air India officials requesting a ‘meet and assist’, ‘special handling’, and an upgrade to business class ‘subject to availability’ for the Bansals.
In accordance with Indian Express records, Rajiv Bansal’s ticket was booked on April 1 and his wife’s ticket on February 24. The Bansals received their tickets at a ‘much-reduced rate’ on February 24 and April 1, when round-trip rates were Rs 80,000 and Rs 1.41 lakh respectively.