Air India mocks IndiGo with 'Unbeatable' service
New Delhi : IndiGo's loss is Air India's gain. The state carrier on Wednesday used the recent brawl incident involving IndiGo staff as a marketing strategy.
In a veiled jibe at IndiGo after the private airlines made headlines for manhandling passenger, Air India posted two advertisements on its Twitter handle on Wednesday.
In one of the ads, the Air India promised "Unbeatable Service" with the letters 'beat' highlighted in blue -- the theme colour of IndiGo. The second ad depicted the Air India's mascot 'Maharaja' in his trademark inviting style with a tag line that read, "We raise our hands ONLY to say Namaste."
Incidentally, until few months ago, IndiGo was first in line to buy Air India after the government approved disinvestment in the state carrier.
The private airline has been at the receiving end of the public wrath over last month's incident.
Former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi mentioned in a tweet, "After seeing the brutal assault on a passenger, almost throttling him to death, should Indigo not be boycotted - at least for a month?"
"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.
Alongside the dire comments, a slew of jokes and memes on IndiGo also featured in several posts on social media.
"Have enrolled for kalari payattu classes. Have an Indigo flight 3 weeks later," tweeted Ushy Mohan Das.
A Twitter post where the user is asking IndiGo to beat up his boss who is travelling by the airline.
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.
