Manju and I were visited a couple of days ago by Tuk Tuk Mukherjee.  She is the widow of our dear friend and former colleague, Shanu Mukherjee.  Tuk Tuk is visiting one of her sons - Mohit - who lives a few miles away in Palm Beach Gardens.  We had offered to drop by and pay our condolences but Tuk Tuk wanted to drop in and also see Devonshire of which she had heard from my conversations with Shanu.

Which brings me to another sad episode of my life - the death of another former colleague, Brij Mehra.  Brij was not only a former colleague but also a very dear friend.  I had known him since 1956 (63 years ago) when he was a college friend of one of my cousins.

Soon after I had joined AI, Brij dropped by at the Bank of India building in Flora Fountain to meet me.  He enquired if there was any possibility of his getting a job with AI and I offered to speak with Mr. N V Khote, our then Sales Manager - titles like Executive Director of Commercial Manager did not exist in those days.

I went to Mr. Khote’s office and he agreed to arrange an interview for Brij with the senior panel the next day.  I went back to my desk and informed Brij and asked if he had brought a suit and tie that he could wear to the interview.  He replied in the negative and so I took him home and gave him a shirt, a tie and one of my very few suits.

Brij appeared the next morning and was interviewed by the Panel and was seen later by Mr. Kooka.  He did get an offer as a Junior Officer - same title as mine -  which he gladly accepted.  The only downside was that the trouser of my suit was ruined as being a couple of inches short, the heels of Brij’s shoes had constantly stepped on my trouser cuffs and frayed them.

During his career with AI, Brij was posted to Calcutta, Los Angeles, Bombay (with HCI) and at the end, in Sydney.  He left Air-India a few years after I had resigned and came to the USA with some ideas of what he wanted to do.  

Unfortunately, none of his ideas bore fruit and he finally settled back in India and when I last spoke with him, he was living as a “hermit” in Rishikesh.  His nephew called my son Akhil a few days ago to let him know of Brij’s passing. To the best of my knowledge, there are now only two remaining former colleagues who had joined AI at about the same time as I had.

I had mentioned about celebrating Diwali in one of my emails and I had attached a copy of the Menu.  I am glad to state that the event went off very well.  We had over 90 persons for dinner that night and there were lights and decorations all over the ground floor of Devonshire.  We received a number of compliments not only because of the food and decorations, but also for imparting knowledge about our culture to the residents.

Unfortunately, yours truly was unable to attend the event as I was hospitalized due to a GI bleed.  One of my intestines decided to act up and I lost considerable blood.  This is the second time that this has happened; the first was in 2012.  I am still recovering and have only recently started playing Croquet.  I also intend to resume my golf outings, starting with 9 holes on the 3rd of January.

Starting in January 2020, I have decided not be be on any of the Standing Committees.  It is time for me to make room for fresh ideas and hence, my decision to step down.  However, I will continue to be a member of our Think Tank and also  become more involved in determining tax benefits for our residents.

My alma mater and the Organization I care most about is going through a very rough phase.  Air-India has shown its highest ever loss during the year 2018/19 and it is quite apparent that the top management has absolutely no clue how to run the airline.  This is not surprising since every Babu and Government bureaucrat who has been appointed has left the airline in a worse condition that when he came aboard.  Sad, very sad and now we hear that there has been lukewarm response to the Road Shows which the Government conducted.

I wrote an email to the CMD asking some pertinent questions and he hasn’t had the courtesy of even acknowledging it.  Typical of a sycophant, boot licker “headless chicken” who should never have been appointed in the first place.

I am sorry to end this Post on a sour note and hope that I can speak of more pleasant subjects in future posts.

I was deeply saddened by the passing away of another former colleague and dear friend, Shanu Mukherjee.  Shanu had been suffering from poor health for some time and I had called him regularly almost every week for the past two years to enquire how he was faring.

I was a member of the Senior Panel when Shanu came up for his interview for the post of Station Superintendent.  We did select him and after he had joined Air-India, he mentioned to me that in his previous job, he had worked for my brother in Jamshedpur.  I remember his remark that he now had the unique opportunity to work for two brothers.

It was ironic that he never did work for me.  He did not spend any time at Commercial Headquarters until I had left the airline.  As a matter of fact, I received a letter from him expressing regret that he never had the opportunity to learn marketing techniques from me.

Shanu was 8 years younger than me and hence, one could say that he was from a different generation.  I still have a few former colleagues of my generation and hope they will continue to enjoy good health.

Incidentally, there was a very nice and very positive article recently in the Hindustan Times written by Mr. Vir Sanghvi.  He highlighted the great years of Air-India and paid excellent compliments to both Mr. JRD Tata and Mr. S.K. Kooka.

Unfortunately, towards the end of his article, Mr. Sanghvi engaged in “sensational journalism”.  I say unfortunately, because what he said was grossly erroneous and cast the then Top Management of Air-India in a very poor light. Perhaps, Mr. Sanghvi presumed that there was no member of the airline’s Top Management still living who could contradict  him.  He didn’t realize that I was the then Dy. MD and the sole living member of that Team.

Mr. Sanghvi stated that both Mr. Tata and Mr. Kooka were evicted from the Air-India building, which is a blatant lie.

Mr. Tata never - repeat - never had an office in the Air-India building at Nariman Point. His office was in Bombay House at Flora Fountain which is the Headquarters of all of the Tata Companies.  Mr. Tata only visited Nariman Point for Board meetings and for certain events.

Mr. Kooka’s stay in Norman Point requires me to provide some background which I have not talked about in my Blog so far.

Air-India Charters Limited was created sometime in the early 1970s when we need a vehicle to combat under-cutting of U.K - India fares by the Middle East carriers.  Here, I would like to reproduce an extract from my Post of September 2015:

“The U.K. originating market was our next target.  We sent a Market Research Team to the U.K. to study the market potential and come up with a plan to get our rightful market share.  The Team was led by Randhir Singh and included Michael Mascarenhas and Kanwal Jasuja.  They spent almost a month and produced a series of recommendations which included not only the establishment of a low round trip fare for the VFR (Visiting Friends & Relatives) market, but also the opening of new offices, such as one in Southhall. 

This Report was discussed at a Top Management meeting and negotiations commenced with the British so that we could jointly sponsor the introduction of such a fare.  Unfortunately, the British declined to agree and we responded by going unilaterally at this market.

Air-India Charters Ltd. (AICL) chartered aircraft from Air-India and commenced operating flights between Delhi and Ostend in Belgium, since we were denied traffic rights by the British.  An agreement was negotiated with British Air Ferries (BAF) to operate flights between Southend in the U.K. and Ostend to connect with the AICL flights.  A consortium of Indian Agents was mobilized to get passengers to travel on the connecting BAF/AICL flights.

The success of this venture was soon proven when the British asked us for talks to introduce  a low round trip fare - low enough so that the 6th freedom operators would have difficulty in undercutting it.  We established such a fare and then to ensure the success of this venture, I suggested to Mr. Kooka, the establishment of an “Ethnic Sales” cell in the U.K. headed by Randhir Singh.  He agreed ….

At Mr. Kooka’s request, T.K. Rao, Manager - Charters and I made a detailed study of the European market to ascertain the potential of operation charters under the AICL Banner.  We toured Western and Northern Europe and submitted our Report which I believe, ended up on a shelf in Mr. Kooka’s office.

To the best of my knowledge, AICL never did get off the ground until quite recently when it was converted to Air India Express.  After Mr. Kooka, the next Chairman was Nari Dastur and I did take over the reins for a 2 year period from 1978 till I left Air-India in 1980.”.

When Mr. Kooka retired as C.D., he should have gracefully moved out of his office, handed over the reins to Mr. Dastur and left the AI building at Nariman Point.  However, he wished to retain a connection, no matter how fragile with his alma mater and as a parting gesture, Mr. Dastur agreed to let him remain as the Chairman of AICL even though it was only a “shell” company and had neither a single aircraft nor a single employee.  Mr. Kooka came to his new office to attend to his personal affairs. 

Air-India even gave him a very selective parking spot which was reserved for Chairman AICL.  As a humorous aside, I should mention that at the end of my tenure, I had three parking spots - Dy. MD, CD and Chairman AICL.

The only time Mr. Kooka spent on the Company’s affairs was when he chaired the Annual Meeting held in his office.  I have personally attended some of these half day sessions as the representative of the parent Company - Air-India.

In my capacity as Chairman of AICL for 2 years (1978-1980), the only time I spent on its affairs was when I chaired its Annual Meeting, which took one afternoon.

So, to brazenly state that Mr. Kooka had been evicted from the building was to deliberately cast the then Top Management in a poor light.  

Sad that some so-called professional journalists have to stoop to sensationalism to get their columns read.

Summers in Florida are long, hot and humid.  I get a little light headed if I am under the sun for any length of time.  Because of this, I do not play Croquet during the summer and limit my golf to 9 holes.  This results in boredom and while I do read books, newspapers (both U.S. and Indian) and magazines, I still have a lot of time on my hands.  I am trying to find some activity which will keep me occupied.  One of them is Jig Saw Puzzles and The Activities Department has opened its library to me and so, I have been able to use up some of my spare time.

The latest news about my alma mater is alarming.  It has not paid Oil Companies in India for over 6 months and owes about Rs. 5,000 crores.  This has resulted in it being shut out from refueling at 6 domestic airports.  Newspaper reports also indicate that the Management has sent an SOS to Government requesting an immediate infusion of Rs. 2,500 crores to pay half the same owed to the Oil Companies.

What happened to the so-called “turnaround specialist” that the Government appointed to head the airline?  So far, he has nothing to show for this title.  Air-India’s debt is now Rs. 58,000 crores and mounting.  

This is not the first time, nor will it be the last time that AI has reached this very critical stage of insufficient funds for day to day activities.

And yet, the Management has the audacity to state that but for the “inherited debt”, the airline would be making operating profits.  Let’s examine at this very bold statement very carefully.

The first question that comes to my mind is has the airline paid back part of this debt.  From all indications, the answer is a resounding “NO”.  The debt has been increasing each year and the cumulative losses rising at an alarming rate.

The next question is, have all bills been accounted for and paid.  A Company can only show an operating profit if its gross revenues exceed gross expenses.  We have seen that fuel bills are not being paid.  This major item of expenditure has not been shown in the gross expenses.   

What about the non payment of salary dues to staff.  I understand that high category employees - pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers and cabin crew are being paid 25% less every month for more than five years now. The arrears amount is quite a significant sum.

In addition, we have the case of 19 aircraft sitting idle dues to lack of spares.  No monies have been spent to get these aircraft in the air and in response to another SOS from the Management, Government has released another Rs. 350 crores to remedy the situation.

If we add all of this “debts” to the total expenses, there is a massive operating loss.

 And this so-called “turnaround” expert has the temerity to state that but for the debt, the airline is making operating profits.  Who is the CMD trying to hoodwink?

If I may be allowed to go further and presume that Government will accede to the SOS and give Rs, 2,500 crores to AI, what about the balance due to the Oil Companies?  It is another Rs. 2,500 and will the Management attempt to push it under the carpet till the Oil Companies once again demand payment?  What will happen - another SOS to the Government!!!

Why take half measures.  Let the airline ask for and let Government pay off the entire amount due to the Oil Companies and the airline starts from a clean slate.  Here I am assuming it has funds to pay the fuel bills which will become due in the future.

In my last Post, I had mentioned that Shiv Kapuria had been hospitalized after having suffered a stroke. I am glad to report that he is feeling better and in fact, called me last week.  He is still very weak and will need some time to recover.  Meanwhile, we are now exchanging e-mails which is a very good sign.

On the Political side of my world, our President seems to be getting into more and more diplomatic messes.  During his meeting with the Pakistan Prime Minister, he stated that Mr. Modi had requested him to mediate in the Kashmir dispute.  Just proves that he is delusional.  Then, he gets into a diplomatic quarrel with Denmark by wanting to buy Greenland and calling the Denmark PM’s response as being “nasty”.

He is now in France for the G7 summit and the news media is predicting some “fireworks”.  Has anyone any suggestion in reining him in?

Our oldest grandson has gone to college.  He has entered Lehigh University which is the alma mater of both his father and his Chacha.  By the way, the latter (Sarat) is on the Board of Governors of this University and has been a Trustee for over 15 years.  Soon, the other children will be headed in a similar direction and I hope and pray that I will still be around to attend the graduation ceremonies of all of them.

I have just made reservations to fly to New York in October.  This is our semi-annual visit to be with the children; the first one being in June.  One of the attractions of the forthcoming trip is the annual 3G dinner which is a celebration of the birthdays of our older granddaughter, Aanya (8th Oct), Manju (12th Oct) and our older son, Akhil (19th Oct). Really looking forward to spending some quality time with the family.

Just learnt that Shiv Kapuria has had a stroke and is in the ICU at a hospital in Boston.  I have exchanged text messages with his daughter who advised that the next 72 hours are critical.  On the positive side, Shiv is coherent and “pushing forward”.

Shiv Kapuria is dear to me.  I have known him for ever so long and played a role in his move to the USA in 1978 when he became the AI Sales rep as a local staff.  He was very helpful to Manju and me when I had my first by-pass operation at Mass General in Boston in 1979.  He has our prayers and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

At such times, I am reminded of certain incidents in my life which made life more interesting.  I may have mentioned some of these in my Blog, but I would like to beg indulgence and repeat them from time to time under a column - “MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THESE”.  Here is the first.

Don Reynolds was a former senior executive of American Airlines when I first met him at an IATA Fares and Rates Conference.  Later on, he was appointed Traffic Director of IATA and sometime in the mid-1970s, he invited me to his home and Country Club for dinner.  He showed me a box containing golf balls which he had collected from various golf courses that he had played at.  The Logo of all these courses was visible with one exception and when I asked him where did this come from, he asked me to turn it over and I saw the inscription - “Oh Shit” - a relatively favorite expression of many a golfer when he hit an errant shot.

It has now been two years since we moved to Devonshire and time for reflection.  

Devonshire offers so much that I would like to elaborate how we have taken advantage of these facilities and benefitted from them. 

For over three years, my left knee has been bothering me.  In December 2017, I consulted an Orthopedic Surgeon who stated that I had a worn cartilage, torn meniscus and arthritis in that knee.  He also stated that I was not ready for a knee replacement and suggested that I wear a brace, which I have now worn since then.

On a recent visit to the Surgeon, he saw that the left calf had atrophied and recommended physical therapy.  Interestingly, some time ago, Devonshire had signed up with Liberty Rehab to provide “on-site” therapy. They occupy a suite of rooms on the 2nd floor.  So, I have been undergoing therapy twice weekly and have noticed a definite improvement in my calf.  This has saved me unnecessary trips to the Surgeon’s offices.

We also have a Salon and Spa on the 2nd floor at Devonshire and I have a standing appointment for a hair cut (I still have some hair left) at 09:00 on the last Friday of every month. Similarly, our Bank (PNC Bank) has a small branch with Safe deposit boxes, on the 1st floor here at Devonshire and whenever, the need arises, I go there and do not need to step out on the complex.

One of the best benefits is the well appointed Gym on the 2nd floor.  There is a full time Instructor whom I have been working with.  I have had 6 weeks of “one-on-one” sessions with her and am regularly practicing what she has recommended.  I am scheduled to have another 6 week session with her once I finish my therapy with Liberty Rehab.  

This daily one hour workout at the Gym has done wonders for my physical and mental well being.  Devonshire provides many other facilities, some of which I am detailing below.

We have privileges at the next door PGA National Resort.  We can play at anyone of its 5 Golf Courses and only pay Cart Fees - the Green Fees are complimentary.  We have a small 10 member group and play 3 times weekly.  PGA National has 6 Croquet Courts and in addition, we have one at Devonshire itself.  I started playing this game late in 2017 and am enjoying it more than I enjoy playing golf.  It requires considerable strategy and one has to think very carefully before making a stroke.

We attend lectures at least once a week.  They are conducted by a senior professor from the Florida Atlantic University.  The subject is American Foreign Policy.  Additionally, we have periodic lectures by well know personalities on various subjects - last week the subject was Socialism.

I am a member of two Committees - Marketing and Activities - we meet once monthly.  In January 2018, I was invited to join a “think tank” of 9 residents.  We meet on the last Friday of every month.  We also participate in a 5 couple reading group on the 2nd Tuesday of every month.  Each couple, by turn, selects a short story and we all take turns reading it page by page.  

We enjoy live music about 4 times weekly in our Lounge plus we have a Cabaret 6 times a year.  There is a small movie hall seating 40 persons and they screen both latest and classic movies 4 times daily.  The movies are changed every 2 or 3 days.

On the mornings when I am not playing golf, I have breakfast after my Gym workout with a regular group of 7 or 8 residents.  Continental breakfast is offered complimentary daily at Devonshire in the Verandah.  The Verandah also offers a buffet dinner daily.  We also have a Deli where you can get sandwiches and salads.

There are 3 other restaurants where complimentary dinner is served a la carte.  There are usually 6 to 7 daily entrees and two specials every day. Menus are changed every 5 weeks. One (Windsor) specializes on steaks and other meats while another (Cavendish) offers seafood.  

To accommodate the dietary requirements of my dear wife, both of these restaurants offer one vegetarian dish on the menu.  In addition, the Cavendish has Fish Curry and rice as one entree for the next 5 weeks.  The Windsor had Chicken Curry and Rice last Thursday.

There is a strict dress code in two of these restaurants - jackets are mandatory for gentlemen and, in addition, weekend dinners are the Windsor require gentlemen to wear ties as well.  Ladies are required to be appropriately dressed. 

Both Manju and I crave for our dal and sabzi and so, once or twice a week, she cooks a vegetarian meal in our kitchen.  On such nights, we have lunch in the Deli or order a take-out from the Verandah.

Of course, all these dinners, benefits and facilities come at a cost which is substantial, but I must emphasize that on balance, we believe we made the best choice in making this move.

We have never been so happily busy and are fortunate to have developed very good friendships.  There is seldom any evening when we dine alone.  Even when we plan to be by ourselves, someone will join us at our table.  It just proves that the Lifestyle that Devonshire offered us in their promotions has been just what we needed to maintain an active physical and mental life in our “winter years”.

I last Posted on March 3, 2019 and at that time, I had concluded that it would be my last Post as my writings had brought me to the end of my tenure with Air Mauritius and I had “fully” retired.

A couple of weeks ago, I happened to meet a very pleasant and personable young lady in New York and she told me that she had read my complete Blog - both parts; one pertaining to my career with AI and the second which spoke of my tenures with KU, PanAm and MK.  She was disappointed to learn that I did not plan to add to my Blog and I must admit that she has managed to convince me to continue Posting as and when I come across any interesting items.  So, here I am back again.

There have recently been a few news items concerning an airline which does not in any way resemble the airline where I started my working life.

One item stated that the Indian Government was still holding on to its plan to sell it and hoped to accomplish this task before the end of the current calendar year.  

I quote here a news item dated June 28, 2019 from Indo-Asian News Service "The plan is to sell the airline within 100 days. The accounts for last fiscal is in the process of being closed so that bidding process could start at the earliest. This time, the government is in no mood to relent on the sale of Air India," an official source told IANS.

It also stated that the projected loss for the financial year ending March 31, 2019 was estimated at Rs. 7,600 crores - I understand that the comparable loss in the previous year was Rs. 5,337 crores.  In the same period, that total debt has increased from Rs. 55,000 crores to Rs. 58,000 crores.  My only comment is - GOOD LUCK, TRYING TO SELL THIS MASSIVE WHITE ELEPHANT.

Another item showed that the airline had about 19 aircraft sitting on ground due to lack of spares.  This included some 787 aircraft - the latest addition to the airline’s fleet and that Management had decided to earmark about $500 million to purchase the spares and get the aircraft back in flying condition by the end of the year.  I am at a complete loss why this decision has been taken considering that the intention is to sell the airline at around the same time.

In a third item, the Civil Aviation Minister has indicated that the airline will start services to Toronto, Nairobi and Bali to coincide with the winter schedule - and they still plan to sell the airline before the end of the year!!!!!

Have we gone crazy?  You are planning to sell the airline before the end of the year and at the same time, incur additional expenditure in setting up new offices and additional crew and ground support for the new flights. What if the new owner does not agree with this expansion of routes.  I must, of course, presume that Market studies have been undertaken to prove the economical viability of these flights, or am I mistaken?

Of course, this time, the announcement for the new flights was made by the Civil Aviation Minister.  This is a significant departure from earlier times when the Prime Minister used to make such announcements - cases in point are the San Francisco flights and the Ahmedabad - London flights.  In both instances, the decisions to inaugurate the flights and their announcements did not come from the Management of the airline, which continues to act only on directives from the Government.

And here, I thought that Air-India was an autonomous Corporation!!!  Obviously, I have misunderstood the definition of “autonomous”.

I will end this Post with one last comment and that is on the news item where the Pilot of this “esteemed” airline asked the Flight Purser to wash and clean his Tiffin Box.  The Purser refused resulting in a clash (words? or physical?) between the two.

Firstly, every airline has a policy that each of the Cockpit crew are served different meals and those too, are provided by its caterer.  The purpose is obvious - we do not want both pilots to suffer from food poisoning.  How come a Pilot is allowed to bring his own home cooked food?

Secondly, if I am not mistaken, the Inflight Service Department now reports to Operations and since the latter have always considered themselves to be the Lords and Masters of the aircraft, they feel they have the right to order the cabin crew as and when they feel superior.  

In my then capacity of Deputy Managing Director (Commercial), the IFS Department reported to me and when Mr. Raghu Raj came on board as the CMD, the then Operations Director (Druba Bose) approached him to transfer this Department to Operations.  Capt. Bose had become quite emboldened at that time, because the Congress Party had taken over the Government and he (Capt. Bose) and a very senior member of the Cabinet happened to belong to the same state - Bengal. 

I opposed this move and was successful in resisting the change.  Subsequent events after my departure resulted in the Bengali connection being very usefully employed.

Following upon what I wrote in my last Post, I retired from Air Mauritius on March 31, 1999.  For the next two years, I spent part of my time as a Consultant with the airline and another part in promoting Mauritius as a tour destination.

Andy Bhatia very graciously organized a retirement party for me; a gesture for which I will always be grateful to him.  I must at this juncture also mention that I was invited to a number of Air-India functions along with Peter Mahta and here again, many thanks to Andy for thinking of both of us when preparing the list of invitees.

I incorporated Indian Ocean Enterprises, Inc. as a Tour Operator and used this vehicle to act as a Tour Operator for MK until March 2008, at which time, the airline decided to close their US office.

When I left full time employment with MK, my Sales Manager took charge of the office and hired another staff member to take care of reservations and sales calls.  All three members of the staff assisted me in my task of generating IT business and I rewarded them monetarily, by giving them “bonuses” at Christmas.  This mutual exchange worked quite well until MK’s Head Office came to know of it because of a “slip of the tongue” on the part of the new Manager.

MK informed the Manager that he and the staff could not receive any remuneration from a “Contractor” and hence, this arrangement had to stop.  Unfortunately, this action had its reaction and while the junior staff members continued to assist me, the Manager decided to call it a day. 

At the same time, MK’s Head Office informed the Manager to improve the performance of the region which had a reverse effect.  I found a profound change in his attitude and lack of interest in his job.  For example, he decided that the US office would start to observe holidays which some European stations were observing, such as Easter Monday, Boxing Day and the 2nd of January.  When I questioned him, he said that Head Office would presume that the holidays observed by the  US office were aligned with the European stations and hence, would not question.

In addition, I found that the MK office closed at 12 noon on Fridays and any time I called in the afternoon, I heard a recording to leave a message which was always returned on the following Monday or work day.

Well, these changes could not be kept secret for too long and sometime in 2007, MK’s Head office decided to close the office as of March 31, 2008 and appoint a GSA.  I felt quite upset as the two junior staff members lost their jobs because of the callous attitude of the Manager, who was close to the age of retirement and hence did not feel the pinch.

I continued promoting tours but found the task gradually unremunerative because of the lack of support and soon closed Indian Ocean Enterprises, Inc. and thereby became a full time retiree.  

After my retirement from MK, I still visited the Mauritius primarily to update myself on the resorts and any upgradings that may have taken place.  It also helped to renew my contacts.  MK continued to offer free tickets for myself and Manju; the resorts complimented our stays and my Ground Operator always had a BMW 725 at our disposal.

What I discovered during one of these visits were rumors regarding corruption at the highest level and while I cannot with any certainty confirm what I am about to relate below, my sources were impeccable and their revelations were confirmed by former MK colleagues.

First, monies were being funneled into a “slush fund” for use by top executives for their own personal use and those of senior Government officials traveling overseas.  It appeared that the override commission that was being paid to MK’s GSA in MRU was actually paid back to two top executives.  

This had been going back for many years and when I questioned a former top executive, his answer was - who do you think paid for the visit of the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary (with wives) to the Boeing factory in Seattle?  There was no proof of any misdemeanor but rumors continued to fly.

He said that the entire trip was camouflaged as an invitation by Boeing, but was actually paid from this slush fund.  Personal trips abroad of some other Government officials was similarly financed by this fund.

Secondly, very expensive gifts and “toys”, such as BMW cars were purchased for use of the wife of a top executive from the same fund.

All of this information came to light when there was a change in Government and MK Top Management and a new CEO discovered the existence not only of this slush fund but also Insurance Policies taken out in the name of two top executives, whose premiums were paid out of commissions paid to a certain overseas GSA.

I believe one of the top executives involved confessed to his participation and under a plea deal served time in prison.  The case against another top executive never came to court as he threatened to bring out the names of Government officials who had benefitted from MK’s largesse.

As I stated above, I could not get any evidence of such corruption but my talks with a number of locals definitely left the impression that “daal me kuch kala hai”.

In early 1998, I received the call which I was expecting and proceeded to Mauritius to meet the CMD.  The meeting was also attended by the Dy. MD, Vinod Chidambaram.  Suresh Seegobin, the Commercial Director was not invited to attend.

It was the first time that I had met the CMD and immediately sensed a little tension in the atmosphere.  He started the meeting by asking “What is Sethi Associates?”  I said that Sethi Associates promoted tours to Mauritius and that it was his predecessor who had asked me to start promoting such tours in addition to my job as the G.M - North America.  

If that was the case, he enquired why was Air Mauritius paying Sethi Associates a commission of 3% on all sales in the USA.  I told him that the commission was a part of my remuneration package and was offered to me by Harry Tiruvengadam and Suresh Seegobin in lieu of accommodation and also as an incentive to generate revenue for the airline. 

The CMD stated that only GSAs were paid such a commission and since Sethi Associates was not a GSA, he wanted to stop payment of this commission.  Further, MK had received a letter from Carlson Wagon-Lits offering to become the GSA for MK for the territory of USA and Canada, which would benefit MK in two ways:

1. Firstly, since Carlson had offices all over the territory, MK would get tremendous coverage and earn far greater revenue.
2. Secondly, this would enable MK to cut costs by closing their offices in both countries. 

I was taken aback by this news as I had not heard anything of this nature from Carlson whose Head Office was in Minneapolis, MN.  I asked if I could see this letter and the CMD produced it with a flourish.  A quick glance told me that the offer was on the letter head of a Travel Agent in Toronto who happened to be a franchisee of Carlson.  I mentioned to the CMD and the Dy. M.D. that the offer did not originate from Carlson’s Head Office but from a franchisee.

Further, the particular franchisee was an agency run by a Chinese Mauritian settled in Canada with whom our Toronto office had numerous problems regarding reporting of sales, ontime payments and cross border selling.  I told them that on more that one occasion, I had to withdraw ticket stock from this agency.

I could see from the perplexed expressions on both faces that they had absolutely no clue what a franchisee was.  So, I explained the relationship to them and was told that the meeting was adjourned until further notice.

On leaving the meeting, Vinod Chidambaram, the Dy. M.D. asked me to accompany him to his office where he confessed that the CMD was determined to terminate the services of all expatriates and Nari Dastur was expected in MRU the week after to negotiate the details of his departure. I was the last remaining expatriate and he (Vinod) had been directed by the CMD to proceed to the USA in June to discuss with me the closing of the USA office and termination of the staff.

I asked Vinod if I could have an opportunity to present a case to the CMD whereby I would voluntarily retire but that Management would not close the USA office.  He went to see the CMD and came back with the news that the latter had left it to him (Vinod) to make the determination after his visit to the USA in June.

Before leaving MRU, I met Suresh Seegobin both in his office and at his home, where he told me that his own position in the airline was in jeopardy.  The CMD was determined to see him leave voluntarily which he had refused and a stalemate had occurred.  However, with the change in the political scene, he did not see a future in MK for himself.

Soon after returning from MRU, I received a call from Vinod stating that the Carlson agent in Toronto had indicated that the parent office of Carlson would like to meet with the top brass of MK and that he (Vinod) had agreed to visit Minneapolis in June and requested me to attend this meeting with him.  Vinod was planning to attend a meeting in Montreal prior to the Carlson meeting and so, I should proceed directly to Minneapolis and meet him there. 

Accordingly, I flew to Minneapolis and picked up Vinod at the airport and we went to Carlson’s Head Office.  On the way from the airport, Vinod said that since our meeting in MRU, he had been reading books on Marketing and that he had conducted studies that revealed that the MK Head Office could handle all telephone and email enquires originating in the USA very effectively and, with little cost, conduct all transactions and in the process, eliminate the need of an office in the USA.  I just listened to this “crap” and concentrated on my driving.

We met three executives of Carlson at the meeting.  They had absolutely no knowledge about MK or Mauritius and appeared uncertain why the meeting had been called in the first place.  Vinod stated that their Toronto franchisee had indicated to him, that the parent office of Carlson was keen to act as MK’s GSA in North America and that he had arranged this meeting for the two parties to negotiate the terms of the GSA agreement.

Carlson stated that the Toronto agent was merely one of hundreds of their franchisees and had no authority to speak on their behalf.  They further, quite bluntly, informed Vinod that MK and Mauritius were of no interest to Carlson and were very sorry that Vinod had to undertake such a long journey unnecessarily.  Needless to state, Vinod looked quite sheepish when we left (with his tail between his legs) for the airport where he imbibed a few large whiskies and swore to read the riot act to the Toronto agent.  

We flew to Newark and after collecting my car, I drove Vinod to his hotel in NYC.  He asked me to pick him up the next morning and take him to our office in New Jersey where he would let me know Management’s final decision on the future of the USA office.  

The next day, I drove him to our office where he met our two staff and asked questions regarding their workload.  He asked for and was shown the number of tickets issued during that month.  He expressed great surprise that all tickets were manually issued and asked why we did not have automatic ticket machines.  I told him that the mandarines at H.O. did not feel that our workload justified automation.  He then sat down and physically counted all office coupons of tickets issued during that calendar year.

He then came to my office and asked why I had so many files on my desk and when I showed him that the files represented FITs to MRU, SEZ and South Africa.  He went through some of the files at random but made no comment.

Vinod sat in the office the whole day going through files, listening to telephone calls, checking telexes and Sales Reports.  He then stated that he had come to some conclusions and could I take him to my home where he would like to convey his decisions.  Accordingly, we went home where during the course of a few drinks, he stated the following.

One, the USA office was unique among MK offices.  For example, he never saw a single file on the desk of any Manager in any European or Far East station.  Most of the traffic was  generated by Tour Operators and Incentive Houses.  They hardly had any individual clients.

Two, on the other hand, everyone of our passengers was individually handled by us.  Tickets were manually issued and reported to MRU.

Three, he was impressed by the volume of paperwork that each FIT generated all of which was handled by me in addition to my other responsibilities. 

Finally, he was now convinced that there was no way that anyone in MRU could handle  U.S. originating calls and emails and he apologized for even suggesting such a proposal.

In conclusion, the U.S. office had to remain.  However, he did not believe he could convince the CMD to let me stay in my current capacity, but to take care of my workload, the office could hire an additional staff at a much lower salary. 

Therefore, would I consider a compromise where under I would retire on March 31, 1999 (9 months from that day) but stay on for two (2) years as a Consultant, on a retainer.

At the end of my full time tenure, I would be paid one month’s salary for each year of service.

Additionally, until further notice, he would like me to promote FITs.  MK would continue to finance the costs for such promotion, including publication of brochures and advertising.  I would not be paid any remuneration for this activity, but would keep any mark-ups.  In other words a status quo with regard to this part of my current job. 

I accepted the offer, took him out for dinner and dropped him off at his hotel.  He left for MRU the next day.  Within a few days of his departure, he wrote to me confirming what we had discussed.  

In my next Post, I hope to complete writing about my association with Air Mauritius and also attempt to write about some shenanigans that had taken place.