Air India Takes a Dig at IndiGo, Advertises ‘Unbeatable’ Service
One of the two ads targeting Indigo were later taken down.
With IndiGo Airlines facing flak over an assault incident, its rival and national carrier Air India, on Wednesday, took an apparent dig at the country's leading private carrier, promising "Unbeatable Service".
Hours after a video of an IndiGo staffer manhandling a passenger surfaced on TV news and social media, Air India tweeted this poster.
Air India promising "Unbeatable Service" with 'beat' highlighted in blue – Indigo’s theme colour. (Obvious enough?)
The second ad depicted Air India's mascot 'Maharaja' in his trademark style with a tag line: "We raise our hands ONLY to say Namaste." This poster was later taken down, reported India Today.
The private airline, meanwhile, faced a heavy blow of criticism on Twitter for last month's incident.
"A no fly ban is a must on this airline till these guys are arrested with an attempt to murder #BoycottIndigo," tweeted Aditya Thackeray, the president of Shiv Sena's youth wing.
"This kind of arrogant behaviour seems to have become the norm for @IndiGo6E. I hear of rude behaviour instances by Indigo on regular basis," BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain posted on the microblogging site.
Former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi tweeted, "After seeing the brutal assault on a passenger, almost throttling him to death, should Indigo not be boycotted – at least for a month?"
Many others tweeted their doubts and disappointment.
"First @Pvsindhu1 and now this ..I am not traveling @IndiGo6E till they apologise," wrote another Twitter user.
The airline was also the butt of jokes on social media.
Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju has sought an independent inquiry into the incident from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
IndiGo has also written to the ministry apologising for the incident and admitting that it was at fault.
However, it defended the employee seen in the video entering into a brawl and said "he was doing his work" and trying to ensure the safety of the passenger.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)