No austerity please...

Yes you read it right. Its nice to know that our parliamentarians are willing (unwillingly pushed) to cut costs of their living. Madam Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi travelling in a economy class to set an example for their colleagues. Although the intention for this exercise is noble, i fear that it can affect 'aam aadmi' (common man) in a bad way.

Just imagine how it will affect the seat availability in a domestic flight. These days we can get the affordable air tickets (in low cost carriers between major cities of India) ranging between 3-5 thousand rupees. And we are happy with that. If politicians, VIP’s and officials start eating up that low fare seats, we will have to fall back on trains (which are already run at their overload capacity). We surely can’t afford a business class tickets.

A ripple effect would be on aviation sector. Earlier they were getting their economy seats filled through common man and business class via business people (CEO's of various companies) and government officials (Politicians, IAS officers etc) who get ticket reimbursed by govt. Now airlines will suffer a decline in business class bookings, however economy class will be full as earlier. Aviation sector is already facing heat of recession. A loss in business is the last thing they want at the moment.