On 12 September 2011 02:45, Tony de Sa <tonyde...@gmail.com> wrote: [1] I have never traveled to the Gulf by Air India or for that matter any other airline. [2] My beef against Mario Rebello was about him asking for the scrapping of an airplane BECAUSE of a burst tyre or two. [3] Because the bath water is dirty, one doesn't throw the baby with it.
My dear Tonybab, Once again, Thank you very much for the courtesy of your response. I have also read Bosco's and Agnello's response. Bosco is on the button. My I add that your disagreement with Mario has allowed further discussion on this very emotive issue for Goans who work in the Gulf and who for about 3 decades have been pivotal in supporting the economy of village-Goa. You will surely agree that these Goans, crudely referred to as 'Gulfies', struggle in some very inhospitable conditions and not so conducive work environments in order to support their families back home. It is important for me to digress here and state that (at least) initially - they were compelled to find work in the Gulf - in order to support their families (especially the senior members) who were faced with the significant increase in the cost of basic living (incl. food) under the new dispensation, now that Salazar's subsidies were no longer available to keep the cost of living down. I have read Mario's post several times over. I could not find support for your argument in #2 above. All I can see wrt this point is: "were to be de-fleeted from the Air India (Indian Airline) Fleet and were to be replaced by new ones" (Mario). Defleeting, I submit is NOT the same as "scrapping", and was most likely a Management ( Risk Management) conclusion. There obviously was a safety concern. And while 'accidents' can happen at any time and for no particular reason, it must be quite unnerving for our Goan brothers and sisters to travel on planes which are in such deplorable conditions (internally at least), especially when they hear that the planes were to be 'defleeted', and know about recent issues with Air India. In conclusion, while I read about unending discussions (FN/Nunes) and agree in part with them, it would be unwise IMHO not to escalate this discussion. It is very important to the lives and welfare of our brother Goans from the Gulf. I'd suggest that we access more discussion sites and agencies until the problem is noticed and acted upon. At the very least, some other Airlines (with better service and lower fares) will be allowed to fly the Gulf-Goa route . ps: I could not help wonder How Agnello was able to agree with both Tony and Mario - when Tony did not agree with Mario! Have a good day ....all jc