ulta pulta
Turbulent times
Jaspal Bhatti

Santa Singh was checking in at an airlines counter at the New Delhi airport. The girl at the counter asked for Santa’s ID. Santa replied, "Here’s my ID but before you issue me the boarding pass I’d like to have a look at your company’s latest balance sheet." The girl said, "That’s something confidential. We don’t show it to passengers." Santa Singh said, "OK! Tell me if you have got the last month’s salary." She said, "That’s again, an irrelevant question." Santa then asked her, "How else can I figure out that you have enough money and fuel for the journey and that you won’t announce midway that instead of Mumbai you are dropping us off at Jaipur."

We have learnt that Kingfisher has incurred losses to the tune of Rs 7,000 crore and around 130 pilots have already left the company. The on board passengers won’t be surprised if they hear an announcement like "Because of the non-receipt of the salary for consecutive three months, the mood of the pilot has suddenly gone bad. The passengers are requested to go back to their seats and fasten their seatbelts."

The Civil Aviation Director has already indicated that cash-strapped airlines will be strictly monitored to check if they are properly maintaining their aircraft. Santa Singh doesn’t believe the Director’s orders to airlines. As he boarded, he asked the pilot, "Could I have a look at the fuel meter if the tank is full?’

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