{"id":1915,"date":"2016-05-31T08:40:51","date_gmt":"2016-05-31T03:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/air-india-best-buses-fdi\/"},"modified":"2016-05-31T08:40:51","modified_gmt":"2016-05-31T03:10:51","slug":"air-india-best-buses-fdi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1915","title":{"rendered":"Air India: The BEST Buses of the Sky"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

O<\/span><\/p><\/div>

nce again, a three-lettered acronym has got the country talking, and for once, it isn\u2019t <\/span>GST<\/span><\/a>. The Union Cabinet has approved new reforms for foreign direct investment or <\/span>FDI<\/span><\/a>, and while everybody is speculating how long until they can be crushed in a stampede at their local Walmart, spare a thought for good old <\/span>Air India<\/span><\/a>. The reforms allow for up to 49 per cent FDI in the national carrier, adding fuel to a privatisation fire that has been burning for months now. As the Maharaja stares down the barrel, perhaps he can draw comfort from his kindred spirit. <\/span>\n\nWho might that be? <\/span>\n\nName a public transport service with employees who are famously inept, has a mountain of crippling debt, and a travel schedule that can\u2019t be kept.\u00a0If you answered Air India, you\u2019re right. If you answered <\/span>BEST<\/span><\/a>, you\u2019re right as well!\u00a0The two public transport services, once proud relics of our past, are turning into decrepit antiques before our eyes. Should the airline and bus service become obsolete, it would be a sorrowful loss of vintage coolness. For decades on either side of Independence, BEST and Air India have plied their trade, ferrying Indian travellers to their destinations no matter how <\/span>unruly <\/span><\/a>or boisterous they get en route. <\/span>\n\nThere was a time when things were different. The big red bus of the BEST was just as iconic as London\u2019s double-deckers, and fliers were actually excited to travel on board an Air India craft. Today, so many of the buses are used by Mumbai\u2019s gardullahs to enact street-theatre versions of <\/span>Requiem for a Dream<\/span><\/i> and an Air India ticket is something only sadistic admin people use to book your official travel. Now the two public undertakings limp along in the 21st century, as relevant as <\/span>LK Advani<\/span><\/a> in the new millennium. We know the BJP can\u2019t really let go of the original Hindutva poster boy, so can the fabric of Indian social life let go of Air India and BEST?<\/span>\n\n

Even if the two services were to be privatised, it would be a shame if they lost their signature character and stopped serving their unique brands of inconvenience.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nWe\u2019ve all got our memories of the two of them. From the airhostess who might have graduated from the school of I Don\u2019t Give a Fuck for how she ignored you, to the bus conductor who denied having any change despite carrying a jingly satchel that weighed him down. Thankfully for Air India and BEST, these memories have the added benefit of being rose-tinted, so we think back on them fondly rather than with the irritation we first experienced them with. No Mumbai traffic jam would be the same without a big red bus blocking the path of three cycles, 12 motorbikes, and 20 cars. Similarly, an Indian airport wouldn\u2019t be an Indian airport without posters of the Maharaja bowing down to welcome passengers to the most uncomfortable flight of their life.<\/span>\n\nAs the new FDI norms might spell the end of Air India as we know it, we can only hope for nostalgia\u2019s sake that the airline takes a page out of BEST\u2019s book. The resilient bus service has been teetering on the precipice of collapse for a few years now, but has tenaciously hung on for dear life, just like all their passengers. <\/span>\n\nEven if the two services were to be privatised, it would be a shame if they lost their signature character and stopped serving their unique brands of inconvenience. Because while we can\u2019t live with them, we wouldn\u2019t know how to live without them. <\/span>\n\nWhen it comes to Air India and BEST, there have never been two organisations more worthy of the saying, \u201cTedha hai par mera hai.\u201d \u00a0<\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The new FDI norms might spell the end of Air India as we know it. For nostalgia\u2019s sake, we hope it takes a page out of BEST\u2019s book. Mumbai\u2019s bus service has been on the brink of privatisation for a few years, but has tenaciously hung on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":1916,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[3800,3801,3802,3803,3202,3804,3805,3806,3807,3808,3809,19,3810,3811,80,3812,3813,3814,3815,3816],"class_list":["post-1915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pov","tag-air-india","tag-airhostess","tag-airline","tag-aviation","tag-best","tag-bus","tag-bus-conductor","tag-civil-aviation","tag-double-decker-bus","tag-fdi","tag-foreign-direct-investment","tag-india","tag-indian-aviation","tag-indian-civil-aviation","tag-mumbai","tag-national-airline","tag-pilot","tag-privatisation","tag-privatization","tag-public-transport"],"yoast_head":"\nAir India: The BEST Buses of the Sky<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The new FDI norms might spell the end of Air India as we know it. For nostalgia\u2019s sake, we hope it takes a page out of BEST\u2019s book. Mumbai\u2019s bus service has been on the brink of privatisation for a few years, but has tenaciously hung on.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1915\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Air India: The BEST Buses of the Sky\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The new FDI norms might spell the end of Air India as we know it. For nostalgia\u2019s sake, we hope it takes a page out of BEST\u2019s book. Mumbai\u2019s bus service has been on the brink of privatisation for a few years, but has tenaciously hung on.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1915\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arr\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-05-31T03:10:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1515681039.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1520\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"850\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dushyant Shekhawat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Air India: The BEST Buses of the Sky\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"The new FDI norms might spell the end of Air India as we know it. For nostalgia\u2019s sake, we hope it takes a page out of BEST\u2019s book. Mumbai\u2019s bus service has been on the brink of privatisation for a few years, but has tenaciously hung on.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dushyant Shekhawat\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1915#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1915\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dushyant Shekhawat\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/933099a2338957592f7fff40263742db\"},\"headline\":\"Air India: The BEST Buses of the Sky\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-05-31T03:10:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1915\"},\"wordCount\":641,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1915#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1515681039.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Air India\",\"airhostess\",\"Airline\",\"Aviation\",\"best\",\"Bus\",\"bus conductor\",\"Civil Aviation\",\"double-decker bus\",\"FDI\",\"Foreign Direct Investment\",\"India\",\"Indian Aviation\",\"Indian Civil Aviation\",\"mumbai\",\"National Airline\",\"pilot\",\"Privatisation\",\"Privatization\",\"Public Transport\"],\"articleSection\":[\"POV\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1915\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1915\",\"name\":\"Air India: The BEST Buses of the Sky\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1915#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1915#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1515681039.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-05-31T03:10:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/933099a2338957592f7fff40263742db\"},\"description\":\"The new FDI norms might spell the end of Air India as we know it. For nostalgia\u2019s sake, we hope it takes a page out of BEST\u2019s book. Mumbai\u2019s bus service has been on the brink of privatisation for a few years, but has tenaciously hung on.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1915#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1915\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1915#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1515681039.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1515681039.jpg\",\"width\":1520,\"height\":850},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arre.co.in\\\/?p=1915#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Air India: The BEST Buses of the Sky\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arr\u00e9\",\"description\":\"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/933099a2338957592f7fff40263742db\",\"name\":\"Dushyant Shekhawat\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f954968c96ac296f8a855e9f7c24b2da221736e30aceb00a9cb1016fec0291f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f954968c96ac296f8a855e9f7c24b2da221736e30aceb00a9cb1016fec0291f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f954968c96ac296f8a855e9f7c24b2da221736e30aceb00a9cb1016fec0291f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dushyant Shekhawat\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?author=43\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Air India: The BEST Buses of the Sky","description":"The new FDI norms might spell the end of Air India as we know it. For nostalgia\u2019s sake, we hope it takes a page out of BEST\u2019s book. Mumbai\u2019s bus service has been on the brink of privatisation for a few years, but has tenaciously hung on.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1915","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Air India: The BEST Buses of the Sky","og_description":"The new FDI norms might spell the end of Air India as we know it. For nostalgia\u2019s sake, we hope it takes a page out of BEST\u2019s book. Mumbai\u2019s bus service has been on the brink of privatisation for a few years, but has tenaciously hung on.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1915","og_site_name":"Arr\u00e9","article_published_time":"2016-05-31T03:10:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1520,"height":850,"url":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1515681039.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dushyant Shekhawat","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Air India: The BEST Buses of the Sky","twitter_description":"The new FDI norms might spell the end of Air India as we know it. For nostalgia\u2019s sake, we hope it takes a page out of BEST\u2019s book. Mumbai\u2019s bus service has been on the brink of privatisation for a few years, but has tenaciously hung on.","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dushyant Shekhawat","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1915#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1915"},"author":{"name":"Dushyant Shekhawat","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/933099a2338957592f7fff40263742db"},"headline":"Air India: The BEST Buses of the Sky","datePublished":"2016-05-31T03:10:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1915"},"wordCount":641,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1915#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1515681039.jpg","keywords":["Air India","airhostess","Airline","Aviation","best","Bus","bus conductor","Civil Aviation","double-decker bus","FDI","Foreign Direct Investment","India","Indian Aviation","Indian Civil Aviation","mumbai","National Airline","pilot","Privatisation","Privatization","Public Transport"],"articleSection":["POV"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1915","url":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1915","name":"Air India: The BEST Buses of the Sky","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1915#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1915#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1515681039.jpg","datePublished":"2016-05-31T03:10:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/933099a2338957592f7fff40263742db"},"description":"The new FDI norms might spell the end of Air India as we know it. For nostalgia\u2019s sake, we hope it takes a page out of BEST\u2019s book. Mumbai\u2019s bus service has been on the brink of privatisation for a few years, but has tenaciously hung on.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1915#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1915"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1915#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1515681039.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1515681039.jpg","width":1520,"height":850},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=1915#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Air India: The BEST Buses of the Sky"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/","name":"Arr\u00e9","description":"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/933099a2338957592f7fff40263742db","name":"Dushyant Shekhawat","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f954968c96ac296f8a855e9f7c24b2da221736e30aceb00a9cb1016fec0291f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f954968c96ac296f8a855e9f7c24b2da221736e30aceb00a9cb1016fec0291f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f954968c96ac296f8a855e9f7c24b2da221736e30aceb00a9cb1016fec0291f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dushyant Shekhawat"},"url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?author=43"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1515681039.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}