Air India crew takes away breakfast buffet in boxes, complains hotel

"We have received an unfortunate email from the management of hotel in London stating that some AI crew members regularly come down for breakfast with empty boxes into which they fill food items from the buffet, presumably to eat later."

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Air India flight attendants received a ‘warning note’ on Monday allegedly warning them that serious disciplinary action will be taken against those offenders who pack hotel buffet into boxes.

A hotel in London, where cabin crew are put up, allegedly complained to Air India authorities about some crew members who brought boxes along to pack and take away breakfast buffet served in the morning at the hotel.

Following this, in-flight service department sent out a warning note to its flight attendants, saying that offenders will face action.

The Times of India published the note which said: "We have received an unfortunate email from the management of hotel in London stating that some AI crew members regularly come down for breakfast with empty boxes into which they fill food items from the buffet, presumably to eat later." 

"This may include, not being scheduled on international sectors, as we have no desire to allow the reputation of Air India to be tarnished by a handful of such individuals," the note warned. 

An Air India spokesperson confirmed to TOI that the matter is under investigation.

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The report cited anonymous crew members who said the reason to do so was they often did not have enough time to sleep or enough allowance.

"Unlike earlier when the layover was 2 days, it's now only 26 hours and so we have to catch up on sleep before the next flight. Even so, only a couple of us would be bringing boxes to fill and eat later. Most don't do that," the crew member said. 

"It's the worst for cabin crew who have been taken on contract as they are paid 60% less than the regular crew. The layover allowance is meagre and ranges from $600-1200 per month during which time we do at least ten layovers," he said. 

Then again, room service is not provided for free in the said hotel. "It comes with a service charge of 10 pounds so as to discourage people from ordering meals in their room. So one has to dress up and go to the restaurant downstairs for a meal. The menu is limited to sandwiches and such things so one is not inclined to have that lunch/dinner every time one lands there. Since the hotel is located close to Heathrow airport, one has to take the long trip to the city to have a proper meal," a crew member said.